


Entropy

by ladydragon76



Series: CCC [9]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 02:16:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 69,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1153575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydragon76/pseuds/ladydragon76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><b>Summary:</b> Now with the drug destroyed, Megatron seems even more unstable, but he’s not the only one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **‘Verse:** G1  
>  **Series:** CCC  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Characters:** Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp, Megatron/Soundwave, and many others.  
>  **Warnings:** Mechpreg of the spark-splitting variety, Spark smut, Violence,  
>  **Notes:** This will be the last main fic in the CCC series. It wasn’t meant to be, but so long has passed since I wrote this, I now feel like I could start fresh and do better with the concepts in a reboot. I’m FAR too nostalgic, however, to remove my first fics I wrote for the Transformers fandom. Please enjoy!

Ravage looked up in surprise from where he lay stretched out on his creator’s berth as Soundwave entered quietly.

_You’re early,_ Ravage observed in mild confusion and curiosity. He grew concerned when the telepath made no response. Ravage could feel the pain through the link he shared with Soundwave. It was distressing how often his creator was in pain lately, and it all centered on Megatron. In the past it was not uncommon for irritation, perhaps even a bit of anger, to bleed through the bond to Ravage. Megatron was a great leader, but he knew that the more irrational actions wore on Soundwave’s patience at times. However, never before had Ravage sensed pain. _That_ had only begun recently.

Soundwave said nothing to Ravage’s remark, and glanced quickly about his quarters. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were snuggled close on their preferred perch -a pipe near the ceiling of the room. Rumble and Frenzy would no doubt be in the Control Room on guard duty. And of course his eldest creation stared at him from his berth with concerned optics.

Soundwave picked Ravage up before lying down on his side and curling around his creation’s body. He forced himself to shutdown into recharge, and ignored the painful ache around his spark.

~ | ~

_This sucks slag!_

Sideswipe sighed, and shifted in his berth. _You’re being punished, Sunshine, it’s not supposed to be fun._

_Don’t fragging call me that! And just why am I being punished anyways? It’s not like we had any intention at all of merging with the disgusting ‘Con. Certainly wasn’t bad enough to stick me with Prowl for a month,_ grumbled Sunstreaker.

Sideswipe shuttered his optics. He was so tired, so drained, and it wasn’t all physical. He felt wrung out emotionally. _Why can’t you get it, Sunny? That drug is awful, and you never should have forced it on Thundercracker. Don’t you remember seeing them when they brought Starscream in?_

Prowl looked back at his charge. Sunstreaker most certainly wasn’t paying the least bit of attention to his duties. “Sunstreaker,” Prowl called. No response, though the scowl the twin wore darkened.

_But he wasn’t hurt, and we weren’t going to hurt him. And, as I keep saying and no one seems to get, is the fact he’s a farking **‘Con**!_

“Sunstreaker!” Prowl said a little louder. Again he was ignored. Narrowing his optics in irritation, the he switched on his siren and police lights. “ _Sun_ streaker!”

“What?!” Sunstreaker snapped. He immediately knew that was the wrong response.

Prowl remained calm and only raised an optic ridge. “We will discuss your attention problem and lackluster attitude toward the safety of our people in the morning. However, for now, I would appreciate it if you would actually _guard_ the base.” He paused and took in the sulky look. “Understood?”

“Yes, Sir,” Sunstreaker mumbled. _Thanks Sides. Now I’m in even more trouble!_

Sideswipe pulled away from the bond without responding, and felt as Sunstreaker almost completely shut him out. He rubbed tiredly at his face, and debated on slamming his head into the wall. _Might be more productive than trying to talk sense into Sunny._

Exhaustion from his night patrol after regular daytime duties dragged him down, and he could barely make himself care that Sunstreaker was just as irritated with him again as he had been when Sideswipe had locked him out of their bond a few days before.

He lay, staring at the ceiling long into morning.

~ | ~

Ratchet looked up as the comm chimed. Local time read four-sixteen a.m. “Ratchet here.”

“Would you come to my office, Ratchet?” Optimus Prime requested, his voice low and calm.

“On my way.” _Mirage must be back._

Ratchet left his quarters through the medbay, and palmed open Optimus’ office door when he reached it. He lingered just inside so the sensor would remain tripped and felt as Mirage brushed past him.

“Have a seat,” Prime offered, and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. As Ratchet stepped forward the door closed, and Mirage decloaked, already seated and somewhat slumped in his chair. “How are you, Mirage?” Prime asked, concerned. Ratchet was already running scans.

Mirage smiled slightly. “I’m fine, just tired.” He glanced up at Ratchet with a raised optic ridge.

“A good cube of energon and a long recharge, and he’ll be good as new,” Ratchet confirmed.

Optimus nodded. “Any details I should know about?”

Mirage shook his head. “It went perfectly. I’m surprised the Decepticons held up their end, but I suppose even they can’t deny how wrong that drug is.” He shuddered. “I did do some further snooping on something that caught my optic. Seems there was a second rape by Starscream’s attackers. Both are dead now, and the second victim, Dirge, committed suicide just after killing the one named, Bane.”

Both Optimus and Ratchet frowned. “Suicide?” Ratchet asked incredulously.

Mirage nodded. “The report was written by Soundwave, and mentioned that Starscream accidentally destroyed the first in a panic when attacked in a hallway. Dirge intentionally killed the other.” A look of supreme distaste crossed his face. “And to think Megatron was keeping that drug around.”

Optimus leaned back in his seat, a contemplating look on his face. “A suicide _is_ distressing news.” Prime cast a slightly apologetic look at Ratchet. “Your instincts were spot on again, Ratchet.” He turned back to Mirage. “Can you think of anything else that we should know?”

“No,” Mirage answered. “My time ran out before I could dig more through the datapads on the desk, and I needed to get out of Megatron’s quarters. I followed Rumble into their Command Center and checked in with Soundwave. The mech is made from ice. I know he couldn’t have known I was there, but he didn’t even twitch when I touched him.” He paused a moment, seeming lost in his own thoughts. “Soundwave motioned me out, and then I headed to the lift to wait. The drug is destroyed. It’s over,” he added in relief.

Optimus sighed. “Very well done, Mirage. I’d like a coded report on it after you’ve had a long recharge. Go get some rest. Both of you.”

Ratchet remained seated, and said, “I have a concern, Optimus.” Prime waved him to continue. “Sunstreaker is not pleased with being punished, and I overheard him complaining to Sideswipe about the seekers. He was very adamant in thinking we should have gone after them.” He paused, trying to collect his thoughts and put them in order. “I’m worried. You know how Sunny can get sometimes, and then there’s the added problem of Sideswipe knowing that TC has a bondmate.”

Optimus frowned slightly at the familiar use of the enemy’s nickname.

Mirage frowned too, but in confusion. “I thought he had two?”

“He does,” Optimus said. “But only the three of us know that.”

“Right,” replied Ratchet. “But what Sides knows, Sunny knows eventually. And in this case, I think it’s only a matter of time before Sunny decides to believe his brother and try to use the bond against the seekers.”

Prime sighed tiredly. “True, but there really isn’t anything to be done about it right now. I’ve got Prowl personally overseeing Sunstreaker’s punishment. I’ll let him know to keep a very close optic on the twins and see that they don’t overreact.” He rubbed at his face. “For now though, perhaps you should check on your patient in his quarters, Ratchet?” he suggested, using their code for getting Mirage back to his room. “Then get some rest.”

Mirage smiled at the medic, then disappeared from sight. “After you.” _I believe I shall be keeping my optics on those terrors myself. They’re barely civilized as it is. Sunstreaker with a vendetta will be dangerous._

~ | ~

Soundwave woke to the boisterous chatter of his elder twins as they gamboled into his quarters.

_Yay,_ Ravage deadpanned sarcastically. _Dumb and Dumber return. I can breathe again._

Dual telepathic snickers drifted through from the eagle twins, both at the tone and the fact Ravage used a human term. 

“Feelin’ the love, Rav,” Rumble said, and hopped up on the berth next to his elder brother and creator.

Frenzy followed, head cocked to the side as he stared curiously at Soundwave. “What’s wrong, Dad? You feel… upset.”

Ravage rolled his optics. _Brilliant,_ he sent only to Frenzy, who just cast him a quick glare as Soundwave clamped down on their link and refused to let any further emotion through.

~ | ~

Megatron walked down the hall toward Soundwave’s quarters. He was concerned, but not overly so. The night before hadn’t gone according to plan, but perhaps this morning would make up for it. Come to think of it, the whole day yesterday hadn’t really gone according to plan. He _would_ get his revenge on those Autobots! However, he was more interested in his elusive lover than rehashing his anger.

He supposed he’d overwhelmed the telepath yesterday. A slow smirk pulled the corners of his mouth up. Primus, he’d frelling offlined him, he thought proudly. It took a few millennium of being lovers and ignoring the telepath for a week, but he’d done it. He’d also never forget the softness in Soundwave as he’d curled into his side afterwards. Soundwave had been so incredibly _passionate_ lately. It was a pleasant surprise, and Megatron intended that it continue.

The previous evening, Soundwave had entered hesitantly. Not normal for the quietly confident mech, but in hindsight, Megatron figured it was a normal reaction, all things considered. He’d stepped close as the door to his quarters closed, but Soundwave had flicked the datapad out to hand to him, effectively halting the approach.

Megatron set the datapad aside and reached for his lover again.

“Inadvisable,” Soundwave had intoned softly, and then quickly fled.

Megatron stopped before the telepath’s door. Yes, in hindsight, and with a full recharge behind him, it all made perfect sense to Megatron. It was inadvisable to attempt a third merging in such a short span of time. His lover had obviously been slightly afraid of what might happen if they merged again. Megatron chuckled. Soundwave had of course flown from his quarters because he dare not allow his passion to possess him again.

~ | ~

The night before, Soundwave had done as requested and delivered his report on possible security upgrades to Megatron’s quarters. Unfortunately, he’d had time to think between the moments he’d left the seekers in their quarters and when he'd arrived at Megatron’s door. He’d betrayed his leader, his long time partner. Though it had been the first time and for a valid reason, the guilt would not stop. 

And, if he wanted to be perfectly honest with himself -which was almost a requirement due to his telepathic nature- then he’d have to admit to being hurt and angry as well. Megatron had called him a whore. Megatron had believed the very worst of him without a flicker of doubt almost instantly. After millennia of serving faithfully in every way, Megatron had quickly jumped to the conclusion that Soundwave had betrayed him. Never mind that it was the truth. How could he have forgotten everything and believed that Soundwave would betray him so easily? The intimate touches that Megatron had pressed against his unwilling Air Commander would not leave Soundwave’s mind. 

It couldn’t continue. That was the only logical decision.

A knock sounded at the door, and six sets of optics locked on it, each one apprehensive. The Cassetticons because they each knew something negative was going on between their creator and leader, and who else would come so early to their room? Soundwave because he knew Megatron would take convincing over why they needed to end their relationship. Above all the telepath was a loyal follower, but he didn’t enjoy Megatron’s ire.

Rumble got up when no one else moved and keyed open the door. Megatron looked down, and then in before spotting his lover still lying on his berth, surrounded by his creations.

“If you will excuse us,” Megatron said. It may have sounded polite, but it was an order. Rumble stepped out closely followed by the eagle twins, and a little more slowly by Frenzy. Ravage almost didn’t go. It took the less than subtle prod of Soundwave picking him up and placing him on the floor before standing for him to follow his siblings out.

Megatron stepped in and the door closed, either ignoring or not noticing Ravage’s reluctance. He moved closer to Soundwave and reached up to tap the visor and face mask.

"Remove-"

Soundwave turned his face away and stepped back slightly. It was almost a flinch.

"Soundwave?" Megatron asked in confusion. 

"Inadvisable."

"Why? What's inadvisable? You said that last night." Megatron paused a moment. "Maybe you really should see Hook."

"Unnecessary. Functionality one hundred percent."

Megatron sighed in frustrated irritation. "Then what? And why the vocal filter again?"

Soundwave gathered his determination. This was for the best. He spoke softly. ”Continuing our affair is inadvisable." He slipped back to his monotone unconsciously. "Only possible outcome: Distraction from duties and vulnerability."

"Affair?" Megatron repeated incredulously. He pressed his lips together in anger. How long had it been, and the telepath only saw it as an affair?

Soundwave felt the rage building in Megatron. "Behavior: Unacceptable. Desire: Starscream." And the final blow, the very most logical reason for why they could not continue on in Soundwave’s opinion. "And it was far too easy for you to believe I'd betray you."

Megatron felt a cold rage stiffen his limbs and tighten around his spark. What did the fool expect of him? For the Lord of the Decepticon Empire to beg a lowly Communications Officer not to leave him? Idiot. This had begun as nothing more than a liaison of convenience and mutual pleasure. "You're right, Soundwave,” he said, his tone low and icy. “This _affair_ has dragged on past all benefit." Before he decided to shoot something, Megatron spun on his heel and stormed out of Soundwave’s quarters.

“Frenzy!” Megatron snapped. The small Decepticon jumped to attention from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “Get to Sublevel Three. The converter’s glitched again.”

Soundwave began to sink back to his bunk, but stopped himself. Megatron’s angry tread pounded away into the distance. This was the only logical choice. It had to be done before they both suffered as well as the Cause _and_ the troops. Maybe in the future they could rebuild? After Megatron realized just what he was missing.

The Cassetticons filtered back into their room, and looked in curiosity at their creator. Each knew something major was wrong, but Soundwave wasn’t emitting anything at all. Not anger, not sadness, not even the love for them they could usually feel even when he did block off everything else.

_This is so bad,_ Rumble whispered to his brothers.

~ | ~

Megatron strode in a fury through the halls for a few moments before slowing his pace and forcing himself to resume a less readable façade. He paused to collect himself just before stepping into an intersecting corridor, when he heard an odd conversation.

“… way! You’re lying out your exhaust pipe.”

“I swear it! They had him squashed between them right there in the Rec Room.” The voices grew louder as the mechs approached Megatron’s position. He raised an optic ridge in curiosity.

“Great. In public now,” the first voice said sarcastically.

There was a chuckle, and the two gossiping Decepticons passed right by Megatron without even noticing him. Though as involved in their conversation as they were, and as far back in the shadows of the hall as he was, Megatron supposed they honestly hadn’t seen him.

“Oh, but what a show! Inexperienced little Starscream’s come a long farking way,” Swindle said.

Mixmaster laughed a bit harder with that odd cackle of his. “I think you’re making all this up just to get a rise out of me.”

“No, I swear!” Their voices were fading as they moved further away. “Oh! And Primus! I thought my audials were going to glitch. You should have heard him when…”

_When what?_ Megatron thought before his raised ridge rose higher and was joined by the other. Then he scowled. So his little fool of a Second in Command was roaming the base thrill-seeking with his mates now? Megatron turned left sharply and headed for the rec room. Starscream was about to learn that such ridiculous behavior was entirely unacceptable.

~ | ~

“I still can’t believe you dragged us out of recharge so early, Misfire,” Thrust whined.

“We should really go over flight plans and maneuvers,” Misfire said. “We’re not used to working together. It’s only the smart thing to do.”

Ramjet picked his head up off the table and glared blearily at his half finished energon. “We know you’re right. It’s just really early. And I don’t know what-”

The door slid open and Megatron stormed in. All three seekers jumped to their feet in an instant.

“Where is he?” Megatron demanded.

“Who, Lord Megatron?” Misfire asked.

Enraged, Megatron glared. “Starscream. Who else?”

Ramjet answered before his young wingmate got shot. “They left as we arrived, Sir. I’m afraid we don’t know where they went.”

Megatron snarled, turned without another word, and left.

“Wow. What did the Commander do now?” Misfire wondered aloud. Ramjet and Thrust just looked at him. “What?”

“Never mind. Let’s do this in our quarters. It’ll be safer,” Ramjet said and led the way out.


	2. Chapter 2

Rumble crept into the old, crowded storage room where the wave energy converter resided. There, kneeling and - _Oh yeah, baby_ \- facing away from him, was his twin.

Frenzy sat back on his heels and threw down his tools in frustration. _Someone, anyone, kill me now!_ he thought.

_Ok_ , Rumble sent through their connection just before tackling his brother to the floor.

“What the-!” Frenzy yipped in surprise, and slugged Rumble in the head. “I’m workin’ here!”

“Nah. Ya were bored and gettin’ angry. I decided ta help ya.”

Frenzy retracted his visor so the full effect of raising an optic ridge would not be lost. “Ya can’t help me. Ya don’t mix well with electronics.”

“I meant I came to help relax ya. Stress is bad for ya, Bro.”

Frenzy chuckled. “How’s jumpin’ me supposed to relax me?” A tendril of lust came across their telepathic link, and he laughed again, and shoved Rumble off of him. “Yeah, that could work but ya’re gonna hafta wait a little.” He moved back to the console and began gently tugging the tangled wires out where he could see them better.

Rumble shrugged. “Hey! Guess what I heard.” He continued on without waiting for his brother to respond. “Seems that Screamer’s bondmates helped ‘im live up ta his name in the Rec Room this mornin’.” He snickered at Frenzy’s surprised look. “Yeah! Before first shift! Guess Swindle came in and saw it all. Been goin’ on all day about how he’s gotta get some of that on film. Won't stop pesterin' Reflector."

Frenzy grinned slyly. “Could be a good way ta get back at Skywarp after his next prank.”

“Why wait?” Rumble shared a mischievous smile with his brother.

Frenzy sighed, and turned back to the wiring he’d managed to work loose. “It’s gonna hafta wait a bit. Whatever’s goin’ on hasn’t left Megs in the best mood, and I’m not suicidal.”

Rumble pushed some of the cluttered and obsolete equipment away before sitting cross-legged on the floor near Frenzy.

Frenzy glanced up and grinned after a few minutes of silence. “Yer gonna hurt yerself.”

Rumble suppressed the urge to grin, and in a copying gesture, retracted his visor to give his brother a raised optic ridge. “I can and _do_ think, ya know.”

“Yeah. The squealin’ of rusty gears is always a telltale sign.” Rumble flipped his middle finger up as a response. “Tut tut, Bro. Ya know Dad gets irked when we use human gestures and stuff.”

Rumble giggled. “Ain’t that why we call ‘im ‘dad’?” He chuckled some more. “Oh, and jus’ ta be obnoxious, like callin’ Ravage _Decepti-kitty_.” He sent ‘Decepti-kitty’ telepathically to Ravage as well.

Both mechs laughed when their elder brother calmly and deliberately blocked them from his mind. They fell silent again for a few moments as Frenzy continued to pluck at the mass of old wires in his lap. “So spill already,” he said. “What’s bouncin’ around in that empty head of yers?”

“Jus’ wonderin’.” At the silent prompt to elaborate from his brother, Rumble continued. “Wha’d’ya think it’s like ta be bonded?”

“Same as we got, but more danger and less control.”

“Heard ‘Cracker and ‘Warp talkin’ ‘bout the ‘Bot twins bein’ bonded.”

“Is there anything ya _don’t_ overhear?” Frenzy cast a quick, amused glance at his brother. When Rumble only remained silent, he sighed. “We don’t need ta be bonded, Bro. The Autobots ain’t telepathic like us. That feedback loop we can create does the same thing bein’ bonded does and satisfies that need in our sparks ta be together. Difference is, we still get to be alone with our thoughts when we wanna, and we ain’t forced ta feel every little thing and be distracted by each other all the time.”

Rumble shook off the odd, contemplative mood, and curled his lips up in a smile that was rather feral. “Speaking of distractions…” He poked Frenzy in the side, right through the armor seam.

Frenzy jerked at the tickling touch. “Stop it!” He swatted at his twin’s hand, then went back to work. He was just about to clip off a melted bit of wiring when Rumble jabbed his finger into a different spot. Frenzy jumped away, and laughed involuntarily before hurling the wire cutters at his brother’s head.

“Ow!” Rumble cried, and rubbed at his head.

“Serves ya right! I need ta get this done.” Frenzy took in the scowl and feelings of disappointment coming through their link as he picked up the cutters. “Then we can play,” he said more calmly.

Things were quiet for a few minutes, and Frenzy relaxed back into the monotony of his task. Rumble distractedly turned a piece of scrap metal over in his hands while formulating the best way to bother his brother. He scooted a little closer. Frenzy glanced at him from the corner of his optic, but didn’t acknowledge the move otherwise. 

Surreptitiously, Rumble slipped his hand toward his brother, low to the ground. Frenzy jumped and clipped the wrong wire as his twin’s fingers wriggled into his own lines beneath hip armor. “Ah! Slaggit, Rumble!” He threw the cutters down and glared at his brother. “I hafta finish this!”

Rumble only grinned, leaned over closer so he could reach, and stroked a single finger down the center of Frenzy’s back, making him shudder at the half tickling sensation.

“That’s it!” His visor snapped back into place, and he launched himself at Rumble. 

Rumble whooped a laugh and rolled, using Frenzy’s momentum to flip him across his own body and pin him down. His visor quickly came down to protect his optics. Frenzy was known to fight dirty when he was irritated. Well, when didn’t they fight dirty? Rumble’s attention was refocused by the fist that slammed up into his chin. Instead of retaliating with a punch, he pressed his body down and wound his fingers beneath his twin’s armor, tickling circuits and wires.

Frenzy went completely stiff and still for a pulse, then squeaked and began to writhe. Rumble’s weight held him down as he gasped and laughed. He tried to hit his twin, tried to throw him off, but it was no use. Involuntarily, he clamped his arms to his sides in an instinctive effort to block or force away the invading digits.

Rumble smiled as a shiver coursed through his frame. Frenzy shrieked again in laughter and squirmed under him. His optics went wide behind the red visor, and he laughed as his twin’s fingers dug into his thighs. With a tiny, “Eep,” Rumble was flipped to his back as Frenzy gained the upper hand.

They struggled roughly with one another. Anyone else looking in would have been certain they were fighting and not playing, and Soundwave was forever lecturing them about damaging each other with their rough housing.

Rumble broke free and rolled to his feet in a deft move, then leap away. Frenzy clambered to his feet and followed his twin.

Rumble leapt from the top of one pile of scrap on to the old disused solar energy control panel. Frenzy dove, half expecting to miss, and crashed into his brother. They tumbled across the panel, Rumble twisting at the last moment and landing atop Frenzy.

“Hi-ya, Zeezee!” He laughed, then pressed forward and kissed Frenzy in a hard smacking kiss that was more play than passion.

They giggled and traded tickling pokes with their foreheads pressed together. Teasing little kisses sprinkled across cheeks, chins, and lips as they rolled, laughing, each battling for dominance and trying to pin the other. Pokes became touches became caresses. Playful kisses turned softer, more often fell on pliable, willing lips.

“Mmm,” Rumble purred, and licked lightly along the seam of his twin’s lips.

Frenzy moaned softly and pressed his body down more firmly against his twin, allowing the kiss to deepen.

“Lemme feel ya,” Rumble whispered, opening his half of the link fully. A shudder ran through both of their bodies as Frenzy obeyed. 

Rumble lightly dragged his fingers down the center of the red back, feeling as the sensation echoed through the feedback loop. He grinned as the dual feelings both tickled and soothed. It was nice too, how Frenzy squirmed and arched closer, trying to escape the tickling part. Pleasurable pulses skittered wherever their bodies slid together.

Frenzy pushed himself up a bit and raised his visor with a finger. He smirked and raised an optic ridge. “Oh, is that how ya wanna play it then?” With out waiting for a response, Frenzy let go of the visor. It snapped back into place with a tiny click, and the hand that had held it up forced Rumble’s face to the side as he dove in and nipped sharply at his neck.

Rumble squeaked, then laughed as the little nips tickled along his cables. Frenzy switched instantly to licking softly and placing hot open mouthed kisses along the same spot. Under him, Rumble gripped at his sides and moaned in pleasure. He’d long ago learned that tickling Rumble made him hot and sensitized. Well, it worked on him too, but Rumble was too distracted to attempt that now. Frenzy snickered and went back to quick bites, openly chuckling as his twin tried to get away and draw him closer all at the same time.

Digging his fingers back into Frenzy’s sides, this time for pleasure, Rumble focused on their combining lust, and pulsed out his energies. They both gasped, then moaned into each other’s mouths as Frenzy sent his own throb in answer. Rumble twisted their legs together and arched, bucking up and flipping them over. Old buttons depressed as they rolled, a red foot knocked a lever along its slide. Frenzy slid his hands down over his twin’s shoulders, and dipped his fingers beneath his chest armor. Rumble’s fingers already strummed gently along his internals, working deeper, seeking the best spots.

Frenzy arched up and cried out as Rumble reached his spark casing. Fingers brushed lightly along the edge, and Rumble trembled as well. Frenzy growled low, and flipped them again. He pulled one hand free for leverage, but slipped a bit when the knob he’d grabbed turned. Little electrical charges skittered along their frames chasing pleasure throughout, and amplified by the increasingly fast throb of their sparks.

Rumble gasped and moved to grip Frenzy’s head. “Too fast,” he said pulling Frenzt down into a blazing kiss.

_Too bad,_ was all Frenzy said before stroking strongly against the spark casing and sending one last throb of power into his twin. Rumble flung his arms wide, reaching for anything to keep him from launching into orbit, and shouted as the release took him. Energy redoubled and rebounded on Frenzy, exploding through his systems. He buried his face in his twin’s neck and moaned. 

Aftershocks shook them both, and a pleasant buzz hummed through their bodies. Rumble smirked as he listened to Frenzy’s quick, gasping inhalations. “Feel better?” He chuckled.

Frenzy lifted himself up a little and smiled down. “Tons.” He chuckled a bit too. “That was inten-”

He was interrupted by an explosion nearby that sent them both sprawling.

“Aw slag!”

~ | ~

Starscream looked up from the shift report he was finishing as Megatron entered the Command Center. He was a little taken aback by the particularly nasty glare that was sent in his direction, but chose to ignore it and returned to his work. It wasn’t very common that Megatron would just walk in angry with him, it usually took something more. Starscream’s fingers tripped a little over his typing. _Oh no!_

_Oh no, what, Sweet?_ Skywarp asked. _And are you almost done? TC says we have to wait for you for evening rations._

_It’s the nice thing to do, Warp. Besides, this way we’ll know he’s refueling instead of forgetting again._

Starscream sighed softly, and glanced up to see if he’d been noticed. Megatron was busily flipping through surveillance views, pressing the buttons rather viciously in obvious irritation. _Megatron’s angry. What if he knows about the mission?_

_We’d all be dead, and Soundwave too,_ said Thundercracker matter-of-factly.

Starscream cast a furtive look at Soundwave. _Not if he betrayed us to his boyfriend,_ he thought derisively. Brawl and Swindle entered then, effectively distracting him, and he spared a glower for Swindle before once again attempting to refocus on the report.

“You’re late,” Megatron growled.

“You only just arrived yourself, Lord Megatron,” Starscream pointed out in a sweet voice before casting a sly glance at Soundwave. “Must have had a... busy night?” He looked back at his leader and winced at the enraged expression aimed in his direction.

Brawl cocked his head to the side, obviously checking his internal chronometer. “Only by a coupla kliks.” Swindle cringed away a few steps from his teammate.

Megatron rounded on them. 

Starscream snickered quietly, only half listening to Megatron’s tirade, and happy to have escaped his wrath for once. He then turned to Soundwave, noticing as Swindle moved closer and smiled vindictively. “Your boyfriend needs relaxing. I can handle things here for five minutes,” he murmured to Soundwave. He saw Swindle move even closer, trying to look like he wasn’t paying attention to them.

Soundwave went very still, but if the telepath was going to say anything in retaliation, it was cut off as the lights flickered and an explosion rocked them. 

Starscream shrieked and covered his head, ducking. “Don’t shoot me, Mighty Megatron!”

The lights came back on full, and Starscream peeked out from under his arms. 

_What’s going on, Star?_ Thundercracker asked. 

_Uh…_

“Get up you fool!” Megatron snarled, and dragged Starscream from the floor. “Report!” he barked.

Soundwave was already furiously tapping away at the controls. “Haul compromised. Sublevel three.”

“Frenzy was down there. Bet the little glitch just ruined the wave energy converter,” Starscream said snidely.

Soundwave did flinch that time. He was still and silent for a moment, then rushed from the Command Center.

Starscream snerked in dark amusement, returned his attention to the monitors, and finished rerouting the power. He turned serious suddenly and pointed to one screen. “We have a flood.” He hurriedly tried to override the hatches with no results. “Systems aren’t responding.” He looked up at Megatron. “I can’t seal the doors.”

“We’ll need to manually seal off the area.” Megatron said, and then turned on the ship wide communications array. “On duty personnel to Sublevel three, we have a hull breach.”

They all rushed down, more Decepticons joining them as they went. Many more than were on duty appeared as everyone dashed to see what was going on.

Megatron angrily crushed the relief at seeing Soundwave, Frenzy, and Rumble unharmed and manually sealing the blast doors. “What happened?” he demanded. 

Rumble and Frenzy shared a look, then shrugged. 

“We were workin’ on the wave converter, and then there was this buzz and-”

“This sorta pop-”

“And then a sizzle sorta sound-”

“Yeah, and then it exploded.”

Megatron shifted his gaze between the two Cassetticons, and raised an optic ridge. “Indeed.” He looked around, and permitted himself a sigh. “Everyone get busy. We need to seal the other flood doors.” He spotted Hook and directed his next order to the Constructicon. “Get your team outfitted for underwater launch, and go seal the breach from the outside. I want teams checking for damage on the other decks. Make absolutely certain there are no leaks through to the wall circuitry. I want this water pumped out before something rusts.”

“This is ridiculous!” Starscream shouted. “There’s no way the converter should have caused an explosion. What did you little worms do? Just look at all this damage!” He flipped through the surveillance camera views of the flooded halls and the external views of the haul breach.

“We didn’t do nothin’ wrong!” Rumble protested.

“Yeah! It isn’t our fault the whole system’s shot!” Frenzy added.

Starscream opened his mouth to retort when Megatron gripped his arm tightly enough to cause pain.

“Get up to the Command Center and compile the Nemesis’ system readings. I want a full report, and you aren’t off duty until I have it.” He shoved Starscream roughly in the direction of the lifts, then turned his attention back to the action around him. “You two get busy,” he snapped at the twins.

Starscream cast one last sulky glower back at them all and left. Better not to push his luck with Megatron too much just then. Something had him touchy and distracted, even before the explosion.


	3. Chapter 3

Starscream sighed as his bondmates ‘snuck’ into the Command Center.

“Guess who!” Skywarp said exuberantly while covering his mate’s optics.

“Hmm, must be my idiot mate,” was the sardonic reply.

“Nope! It’s me! Skywarp! And you really shouldn’t call Thunder an idiot. You know how sensitive he gets.” Laughter was evident through the bond as well as in Skywarp’s voice as he draped his arms around Starscream.

Starscream glanced back over his shoulder with nothing more than a quirked optic ridge, then went back to watching the activity on the monitor. He knew it was the fault of those stupid little brats that the entire wave energy converter was wrecked and a good portion of the sublevel three deck was flooded out. Just how they’d managed it though, he wasn’t sure. There was, however, as the humans said, going to be hell to pay over this one.

He heard a sigh and suppressed all thought and emotion from going through the bond. True, Skywarp’s antics were amusing, but where was the fun in letting him know it?

_Want you,_ Skywarp sent through the bond, curling himself tightly to Starscream’s back.

“Mmm hmm. I’m sure you do, but the last time you conned me into merging in a public place we were interrupted.” Starscream cast another look back over his shoulder. “I don’t like being interrupted.” He paused a moment. “Especially with Megatron in his current mood.” Starscream waved off-handedly towards the monitor where a very peeved looking Megatron was pointing and gesturing.

Thundercracker joined in at this point, sliding a single finger along the very tip of Starscream’s wing. “Yes, but we’d be able to see if he left the flood area. Besides,” he grinned as Starscream’s wings twitched, and a bit of lust shimmered through the bond, “everyone’s busy with the flood. No one will be coming up here for a long time.”

Starscream pushed aside his desire. Megatron was in a particularly foul mood, and he just wasn’t willing to push his luck. Not after managing to get away with their last mission. He shook his wings and escaped Thundercracker’s touch, acutely aware of Skywarp still hanging off him. “Not now,” Starscream said, knowing he sounded sincere and hoping that it flowed through the bond instead of the budding desire.

Skywarp leaned a little more heavily against Starscream. “Who says you get a choice?” he asked, voice a low growl.

Starscream’s reaction was instantaneous. He stiffened and fear washed through him. He went from broadcasting complete terror to absolute fury. His wings snapped down just as Skywarp began to pull away, an apology barely formed on his lips. Starscream spun in his bondmate’s arms and gripped his head violently, pulling Skywarp into a kiss that was anything but gentle or loving.

Thundercracker froze for a moment, then looked skyward at Skywarp’s tactlessness. He could sense the fact that Starscream was angry at himself for the fearful reaction. He’d caught the lightning flash vision of Starscream pinned to a wall, forced into a merging not of his choosing, but not Skywarp. Skywarp only felt the fear, then anger, and then the hard kiss as Starscream tried to bury his traumatized reaction.

Thundercracker stepped forward as the ghostly impression of brutal lips pressing against his own echoed through the bond from his mates. “Hush, Sweetling. It’s alright,” he whispered, and slipped his hands around Starscream’s waist. He pushed calm, serenity, and love through the bond to both of them, and gripped Skywarp’s shoulder when he would have pulled away in confusion and pain. “It’s ok,” he told them both, and felt as Starscream relaxed a little against him. Thundercracker tilted his head and brushed his lips lightly along the back of Starscream’s neck. The hand that had gripped Skywarp’s shoulder loosened and tracked down to an armor seam to trace the edge.

Skywarp relaxed, arms finding their way back to Starscream’s shoulders to pull him closer. Their kiss changed, gentled, became more about passion than proving a point as Starscream relaxed further and allowed Skywarp to press him more firmly between his and Thundercracker’s bodies.

Starscream trailed apologetic kisses from Skywarp’s mouth to his jaw and then down the slim column of his throat as Skywarp tipped his head back to allow further access. _Love you,_ he thought. _I’m sorry. I hate reacting that way._

_You won’t heal overnight, Sweetling,_ Thundercracker’s reassured.

Skywarp just groaned in appreciation of the attention the cables and lines of his neck were receiving. “More,” he said, and ran one hand out along the lower edge of Starscream’s right wing as he slid his other out along the upper edge of the left.

The oddly uneven touches to his sensitive wings pulled a gasp from Starscream.

Thundercracker grinned lustfully over Starscream’s shoulder at Skywarp, and mirrored the movement, only he dragged his fingers from the outer edge to the inner hinge.

Starscream twisted and cried out as feather light touches swept in and out over the now hyper-sensitive nodes. He could vaguely sense the mischief in Thundercracker’s mind twining with the lust. There was a desire there to turn him into a writhing, moaning mass of sensory input. Hoping to even the playing field a little, Starscream worked the fingers of his right hand into Skywarp’s side, wringing a pleasured moan from him. Starscream slipped the fingers of his other hand along Thundercracker’s thigh, and gripped at his hip as another wave of sensation crashed straight through his wings and into his spark, wringing another gasp from him.

A rumbling, low voice spoke next to Starscream’s audial. “I love it when you do that.”

Momentary confusion filled the bond.

Thundercracker chuckled in that deep rumbling laugh of his, sending spikes of heady lust through both his mates, and answered the unspoken question. “Those little sounds you make. I’d pleasure you all day for just one more moan.” He pressed his face more firmly against Starscream’s neck and nipped sharply, smiling as Starscream cried out his name. “I’d go to the very edge of the Pit to hear you call my name.”

Skywarp felt his spark trip, sensing the words were just as much for him as they were for Starscream. He growled low, causing Starscream to whimper again.

Thundercracker wrapped his fingers under Starscream’s chin and around his throat. It was a risky move, a controlling move, but he exuded confidence and desire as he forced his bondmate’s head back, then drove his tongue between unresisting lips.

Starscream returned the kiss with fervor, moaning and gasping. Neither of his bondmates had stopped the repetitious caressing of his wings. He could barely remain standing under the onslaught. While Thundercracker held him helpless in a kiss so fiery he felt like his circuits were going to melt, Skywarp had twisted to suck at his neck, and nibble along his chest plating. Starscream writhed and arched between them, and when Thundercracker flashed his spark energy in a heavy pulse, Starscream lost all control.

Skywarp pulsed his energies out, and timed the wing strokes to the slow pace he set. Thundercracker followed this time, content to swallow every whimper and keening cry they wrung from Starscream.

Tremors cascaded from the tip of one wing and the base of another straight to his spark and out to the tips of his limbs. Starscream bucked, unsure whether he was running from or to the overwhelming sensations assaulting his wings. Such concentrated attention was almost too much of a good thing. “Aah!” He jerked, and shouted as a simultaneous pulse caught him from the front and back. He simply let his own energies go. There was no use to try and trying to focus. Starscream felt the familiar tightening sensation, and abandoned all efforts to hold out any longer. He tore his mouth from Thundercracker’s, and with a final writhing, winding motion, threw his head back and screamed in release.

A veritable supernova of pleasure crashed through both Thundercracker and Skywarp, pulling them along with their bondmate. Thundercracker slipped back and caught his balance against the computer console, then wrapped his arms around Starscream more securely. Skywarp’s knees gave out but Starscream pulled him close. 

Starscream leaned his head back against Thundercracker’s shoulder panting. “Anybody coming?” he asked, trying to crane his neck to see the monitor, and then chuckled, already hearing the comment headed his way.

Skywarp smirked, and nuzzled into Starscream’s neck. “Yeah. The Autobots. They’re torqued you woke them from recharge again.”

Thundercracker snickered helplessly, growing even more mirthful as Starscream narrowed a playfully incredulous glare on Skywarp.

Before Starscream could comment, however, the door swished open and the three seekers jumped apart, laughter suddenly halting.

Rumble entered with a wide and vicious smile on his face. “That sure didn’t sound like compilin’ a report.”

Starscream bristled instantly. “What are you doing up here?”

“Interruptin’ something that’d piss Megs off but good!”

Starscream shrewdly narrowed his optics. “And how exactly did the old solar energy generator panel get activated, _Rumble_?”

Rumble crossed his arms over his chest, and said, "I dunno what yer talkin' about."

Starscream glowered darkly at the Cassetticon. “I’m so sure you don’t.”

“Hey! I don’t report to you!” 

Starscream took a menacing step forward. “ _I_ am lieutenant, which means that _I_ outrank _you_ , you little bug! You _will_ get out of my sight right now, and you _will_ keep your big mouth shut about what you _think_ you heard, or I will include _all_ of my theories on how a deactivated control panel might somehow manage to receive enough power to cause problems in this report!”

Rumble glared, knowing he was busted, and backed down. “I was just sent ta tell ya Megatron wants that report by oh-one hundred.” Rumble turned and left quickly after that, leaving the seekers alone again.

Starscream covered his face with his hands and sunk back against the console. When he looked up, both his mates were watching him. He pinned Skywarp with a glare. “And you!” He pointed a finger into Skywarp’s face. “You will learn to control your urges and limit such activities to our quarters.”

Thundercracker chuckled. “You liked it.”

“That is entirely beside the point.”

Both his mates laughed at the snooty tone, and Starscream grinned at them, then returned to his report.

~ | ~

Megatron stormed into the Command Center and startled Starscream half way to the surface by bellowing, “Report, you worthless scrap!”

Starscream spun away from the compiled data he was working on so quickly that he lost his balance, dropping the data pad he was attempting to upload the data to in the process as he caught himself against the console. “It’s nearly complete, Lord Megatron,” he said as sweetly as possible.

Megatron strode forward, looming over Starscream, and snarled, “You were told one hundred hours were you not?”

Starscream cowered back and nodded.

“And what is the current time, Starscream?”

“Only one oh two. And it’s done! It is! I’m just loading it to a handheld for you!” He flinched back further as Megatron growled and leaned over him even further, forcing Starscream to arch back, the console supporting his weight almost entirely. His optics flickered to the blue form that had entered with his furious leader.

Megatron noticed the motion, and roughly grabbed Starscream’s chin, forcing his optics back to his own. “Do you know why the converter failed, Starscream?”

“Yes,” Starscream hurried to answer. “There was a power surge.” His optics drifted back to Soundwave, and he allowed the telepath to hear his thoughts if he was listening. _And I know what caused it._

“No!” Megatron shoved Starscream back further, causing his feet to leave the floor, and loomed over him, pushing uncomfortably close to the seeker. “No, you waste of metal, the reason the converter failed is because you did not do the work properly the first time.” He suddenly drew back, pulling Starscream with him, then throwing him in the direction of the door. 

Starscream stumbled, catching his balance by grabbing Soundwave. He let go, shoving the telepath’s arm away from him as he narrowed his optics and turned to face Megatron. “That system was flawed from the start! Even humans have more efficient technology than that scrap! I told you that, but you wouldn't listen to me! It's a feat that such a worthless system worked to begin with!”

_Star_? Thundercracker asked in a sleepy voice, concerned that his mate’s emotions were running so high.

Starscream ignored him, and then also Skywarp as he came out of recharge as well. 

Megatron stalked closer, glare staying firmly focused on Starscream. “Care to explain why you never disconnected the solar energy control panel from the new system?” He spoke in a low voice, one Starscream recognized and shrank from. That tone of voice was normally a warning of impending physical ramifications.

Hands brought up in a defensive and surrendering gesture, Starscream stepped back slightly, ready to bolt. “There was no need,” he began.

_You didn’t what?_ Skywarp asked.

“No need? No need?!” Megatron raged. “You just caused a hull breach because you were too inept to see a _need_ to do your tasks properly!”

As Megatron stalked closer, Starscream braced himself for the attack. “I… I… No! That wasn't my fault, Megatron! I did as instructed!” he whined.

_Star,_ Thundercracker sighed. _Stop cowering, Sweetling. You hate doing that, and I don’t like it either._

“I believe doing it the _right_ way was implied in the orders. Your laziness and disobedience have caused severe damage!”

Starscream straightened, his mouth taking on an angry, stubborn set.

_Wrong end of the spectrum, Star,_ Thundercracker said, but Starscream ignored him.

“You refused to listen to me! You never listen to me! I told you that the system was faulty. I warned you that maintenance would be required, and that such a substandard design would be temporary at best!” He could feel Skywarp’s irritation and Thundercracker’s worry.

_Why are you baiting him?_ Skywarp asked. _Didn’t you say earlier how you didn’t want to push him in his current mood?_

_Shut up!_ Starscream snapped, then aloud, and in a voice made even shriller with his burgeoning anger, he sniped at Megatron, “If I were leader-”

Megatron slammed his fist into Starscream’s midsection, and then shoved him into the Command Center door. “Get your sorry aft to Sublevel Three, and don’t show your face until that converter is functioning!”

Starscream bounced off the door and clattered to his knees. “But… But I haven’t recharged, or even refueled!” He clamped his mouth shut, surrendered completely, and fled as Megatron snarled and took a step forward.


	4. Chapter 4

Skywarp peeked around the doorway and into the storage room where Starscream sat cross-legged on the floor facing away and fiddling with something in his lap. He crept quietly into the room, dodging piles of scrap metal and disused machinery, and stopped just behind his mate, ready to strike.

“Don’t even think about it,” Starscream said distractedly.

“How’d you know I was here?” Skywarp asked in disappointed confusion.

Starscream turned away from the mass of wires and circuit boards to give his bondmate an incredulous look for a moment before smiling, amused. “I love you.”

Skywarp brightened, and stepped forward. Starscream made a noise of protest as his mate snatched up the mess and dumped it to the side, then plucked the tool out of Starscream’s hand, tossing it backwards over his shoulder. 

“Sky!”

“I brought you some energon,” Skywarp said. He stepped one foot over Starscream’s legs and plopped himself into his mate’s lap, producing a cube with a flourish. “You never did get your evening rations.” He leaned his head forward and pecked a quick kiss to Starscream’s slack mouth, then arranged his legs better around his waist. “Well. Take it already. You’ll need this if you’re going to stay on your feet for the morning meeting.”

“What morning meeting?” Starscream asked, and took the cube.

“Primus, who do they call the dense one? The morning meeting Megatron is having to discuss the progress and more permanent repairs to the ship,” Skywarp answered.

“He didn’t tell me about it.”

“Well he told me which is just as good isn’t it?” Skywarp paused. “You didn’t hear? I wasn’t blocking when he told me just so you would hear.”

“I’ve been a little busy, Sky.”

A slow smile spread across Skywarp’s face. “Yes, you have,” he said in a sultry tone while stroking a single finger along the side of Starscream’s canopy. “You should take a little break.”

Starscream nearly choked on the energon as a ripple of pleasure coursed through his chest. “By the stars! I thought I was the insatiable one.” He finished the energon in a final gulp, and shoved Skywarp over and off his lap. His mate rolled easily and sat up, face blank as he debated whether or not to pout. Starscream shook his head, and did a quick search for the tool Skywarp had thrown. “Don’t even bother, Cupcake. I didn’t hurt you.”

“Course ya did. My spark aches from the rejection.”

Starscream snickered at the deadpanned remark. He finally spotted the tool, and went to retrieve it so he could get back to work.

“Don’t.”

Skywarp ignored Starscream, and traced his fingers over the wing hinges of his back. Starscream shook his wings in annoyance, but Skywarp just wriggled his fingers into the wiring low on his mate’s back next, making him jump. They hadn’t ever touched him there before.

“Like that?” Skywarp asked in a husky voice next to Starscream’s audial.

Starscream snarled, “Stop it! I need to finish this.”

Skywarp grinned, and nipped a few quick bites out along the edge of Starscream’s wing. “Oh, you know you like it. Besides, what harm could a quickie cause?” he asked when his mate protested and tried to pull away.

Starscream sighed. “Just how do you think the energy surge happened in the first place?”

“Energy surge?”

“Yes, Skywarp! The energy surge that caused the cascade failure that resulted in the hull being blown out!”

“But the surge happened because you didn’t disconnect the control panel.” Another caress, this time of Starscream’s side armor.

Starscream glared at him. “Knock it off, Sky. I’ve got enough in my processor without trying to block your teasing too. And the power surge was from Rumble and Frenzy rolling around merging on the control panel.”

Skywarp’s optics went wide, and he shielded his thoughts, hoping his bonded wouldn’t notice. He’d already had his mates in the Rec Room and Command Center. “You’re thinking about Soundwave again. Should I be concerned?”

That earned him a glare, but then Starscream said, “He was quieter than normal today. We didn’t have a single fight the whole shift.” He paused, thoughtful. “You don’t suppose he thinks we’ve got some sort of truce or,” Skywarp grinned as his bondmate shuddered in genuine distaste, “a friendship now? After the mission?”

Skywarp snerked, and dragged his fingers along Starscream’s neck. “You know…” He ran his hand out to a red shoulder and down Starscream’s arm to fiddle with the gun mounts. “If you just wouldn’t argue with the boss, you wouldn’t be stuck down here. You could be in our berth now.” He touched an armor seam in Starscream’s side. “Nice and warm between your mates~” Skywarp dipped a finger again into the sensitive wires at Starscream’s lower back and stroked a thick cable. He whispered right next to Starscream’s audial, “Who would do _things_ to you.”

Starscream felt himself lean closer, melting into the smooth voice and mental images Skywarp was sending him. Soft, warm lips brushed across his cheek.

He snapped out of the trance and opened his optics just before Skywarp managed to capture his lips, and jerked back, grasping after the first thing to come to mind to aid him in ignoring the burgeoning lust. “It’s my responsibility as Second to debate our leader when he's wrong.”

“But he wasn't. You knew it yourself, and TC and I heard those thoughts. You know you screwed up,” Skywarp pointed out. 

Starscream scowled. There was no point denying it since Skywarp would just know he was lying again. He picked up a second tool and held it out in his bondmate’s direction. “Are you here to help fix this thing?”

Skywarp’s optics widened in surprise. “You know I don’t get all this electronics stuff. You’re the nerd of our trine, not me.”

“Then go back to our quarters and recharge. Unless you _want_ Megatron to rip my wings off? I need to get this done.”

~ | ~

Ironhide jumped a little as his partner for the night appeared at his elbow.

“Here ya go, Ironhide,” Bluestreak said, offering up one of the two small energon cubes he was carrying.

“Oh. Thanks, Blue.”

“You’re welcome,” the sniper replied cheerfully. “I was thinking it’d be a good idea, y’know, ‘cause we still have a ways to go before the shift’s over, and I know you’ve got your regular duties first thing in the morning.” Bluestreak paused for a moment and glanced at Ironhide, watching as he sipped distractedly at the energon and stared out into the dark, star sprinkled sky. Sticking with his chipper, happy voice, Bluestreak said, “You’re being really quiet tonight, Ironhide.”

“Hmm?” Ironhide hummed absently.

Bluestreak tipped his head to the side, frowning in concern. “Ironhide?”

“Hmm?” Ironhide suddenly shook his head, and focused on Bluestreak. ”Aww. I’m sorry, kid. Guess I’m sorta out of it, t’night.” He sighed. “Really appreciate the energon though.” Ironhide tossed the last of it back, and then returned to staring at the night sky.

“You’re still upset about getting into trouble with Optimus, huh? I mean, I know I would be, and...” Bluestreak trailed off as Ironhide turned his gaze back to him.

“Yeah. It was probably one o’ the dumbest things I’ve ever done. I deserve ta be punished. Jus’ mad at m’self is all.” Ironhide paused for a moment, seemingly immersed in his memories.

“I heard Thundercracker really freaked out.”

Ironhide’s gaze intensified for a moment. “Who toldja that?”

“Sideswipe.”

Ironhide sighed. “He shouldn’t be talkin’ ‘bout it.” He sighed again. “But it’s true. Sides was mad as a hornet with Sunny and cut their bond ‘cause of it.”

Bluestreak winced. “I thought it hurt them to do that.”

“Oh, it did. Sunny was hollerin’ and yellin’ for Sides to let him back in. Sides was pretty firm about it for a while there though. Said that it was the least Sunny deserved since Thundercracker cut off his own bondmate to protect him from the drug affects.”

Bluestreak blinked. “Thundercracker has a bondmate?”

“Aww shoot!” Ironhide covered his face with his hand for a minute. “Yes. Least Sides is pretty sure of it. Ratchet seemed ta believe him too. I’m not sure what I believe, but the ‘Con was really upset, and we shouldn’a drugged him.”

“I wonder who he’s bonded to,” Bluestreak mused. “It doesn’t really seem likely that a Decepticon would fall in love, does it?” He giggled.

“Naw. Kinda hard to picture, ain’t it?” Ironhide grinned.

~ | ~

Soundwave stared at his hands where they rested on the table before him, fingers interlaced. No one else could tell but he was brooding. He despised having to punish his creations, but there would need to be repercussions for Rumble and Frenzy’s behavior. Worst of all was that Starscream knew just how they had caused it. Soundwave decided then to make every effort to keep the peace. The seeker might not tell Megatron about his betrayal, but Soundwave doubted he had any such compunction regarding the rambunctious twins.

And as though drawn by his thoughts, Soundwave watched as Starscream very nearly stumbled into the meeting room, looking utterly exhausted.

“We’re honored you were finally able to join us, Starscream,” Megatron said snidely.

Starscream barely blinked at his moody leader as he dropped into a seat. “It can’t be fixed. I can make the converter work, but not the generator. We need an entirely new system.” He folded his arms on the table and laid his head down on them.

All was silent for a moment, and Soundwave wondered if Starscream had dropped into recharge right there.

“In other words, you failed once again to complete your task as ordered. Somehow I’m not surprised.”

Starscream picked his head up and narrowed his gaze on Megatron. “Failure was guaranteed with that faulty design you forced on me. I told you then, last night, and will again now. The _humans_ have more effective means of energy generation and collection. Had you listened to me then, or any of the interim times I’ve tried to tell you we need to devise a more permanent system, we wouldn’t be facing an energy crisis.”

Soundwave’s optic ridges raised behind his visor. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Starscream speak so… rationally. Megatron looked a little taken aback as well.

“Is that so?” Megatron growled. The other Decepticons surrounding the table shrank back.

Starscream sighed. It was difficult to tell whether it was due to being only a few percentage points away from forced recharge, or mild exasperation with Megatron. “Of course it is.” He rubbed at his face with both hands. “Wave energy is highly inefficient. Especially here on the bottom. If we were further up we could take advantage of the stronger currents. As it is, however, we’d do far better to take advantage of the thermal vents.”

Scrapper sat up straighter. “That could work,” he said, then flinched back as Megatron’s gaze fell to him.

Starscream was sure he looked as stunned as he felt. Someone _agreed_? _With him_? He shook himself, and tried to sit up straighter. Warnings had been flashing of his need to refuel and recharge for the last thirty minutes. He’d be lucky to make it back to his mates. “It could, but it’d be a large undertaking.” He flicked his gaze quickly to Megatron, then back to Scrapper. “Hence my desire to have begun sooner.”

“At least the heat from the vents would be a more stable source than the currents,” Scrapper said.

“Explain,” Megatron commanded. 

“Heat can be converted into a usable energy source,” Scrapper answered.

Megatron narrowed his optics. “I know that, you idiot! Explain how this could solve our current problem.”

Starscream frowned, and pulled a datapad from subspace, hoping it was the one he wanted. He glanced up once he found what he was after and plugged the device into the table’s console. A holographic display of the local terrain shimmered to life in glowing blue. “These are geological surveys I did on our environment after the Nemesis crashed here originally. This planet has a high heat, molten, liquid metal core. It's perfect. There are a number of vents near enough to our position.”

Soundwave was watching the exchange with interest. If they could stockpile enough energon to last, as well as gather the correct construction supplies, the plan could be a success. After constant failures on this mudball planet it would be wonderful to finally make some progress. He glanced at Megatron. He’d avoided checking up on his leader’s mentality since their… discussion, but did so now. Instead of intrigued, Megatron was furious.

“You conducted geological surveys without my permission and then kept the knowledge from me?”

Soundwave was surprised again as Starscream ignored Megatron and continued his conversation with Scrapper. He felt as their leader’s temper simmered.

Scrapper leaned forward and poked a finger into the hologram. “This one here would be the best one to start with.”

Scavenger tipped his head to the side, and asked in a curious voice, “But how can it be hot enough under liquid?”

“That's still quite a distance away from the ship,” Hook cut in.

Scrapper turned to his teammate. “It would not be difficult to create an automated energy gathering facility. The need for maintenance would be minimal, and we could use titanium for the build.” He paused and returned his gaze to the display. “Maybe coated steel for the supports that won't be exposed to environmental elements…”

Starscream nodded. “Titanium could work well enough. It's the best and closest to Cybertronian material that this puny planet has to offer, while still being readily available enough.” He paused, and braced his head up with a hand, elbow on the table. “We're going to need to run a successful raid and stockpile energon constantly to replenish the ship's energy usage.” He blinked his optics rapidly and forced himself to sit up fully again. 

Soundwave shifted his gaze back to Megatron, knowing he was irritated, but letting the exchange play out. The telepath braced himself and spoke. “Large quantity acquisitions preferable. Suggestion: Nuclear power.” He felt a wave of surprise from Megatron. _Of course_ , Soundwave thought with a hint of anger, _I don't usually offer unsolicited suggestions._

Starscream raised an optic ridge at Soundwave, optics flickering quickly to Megatron when he noticed movement. Megatron was glaring at his pet. Interesting. “Volatile, but that could work,” he replied.

Hook crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his seat. “That still does not solve how energy will be transported from the power facility to the ship’s systems.”

Starscream poked at the datapad and cycled through a few different views. “This planet has many elements that can be used as sufficient carriers. We could even build a simple extraction device into the system to make it self-replenishing.”

Scrapper looked from the hologram to Starscream. “Hydrogen?” At the seeker’s nod, he continued thoughtfully, “That's entirely possible, but the ship's systems can't process that at the moment, and the energon converter was not built for such long term, high volume usage.”

Starscream grinned, and though physically, he looked ready to drop, his voice held a note of excitement. “The energon converter could be rebuilt to be able to extract the energy efficiently into a usable source. It's been mostly destroyed as it is.” He sent a quick glower in Soundwave’s direction.

Scrapper smiled as well, feeling a touch of anticipation himself. “We'll need to build a temporary facility to work the titanium. It should not be worked in an oxygenated environment.”

"You can create a sealed chamber to construct the titanium at a much higher quality." Starscream considered for a moment. "I need to recharge. Can you draw up some schematics and pull together a supply list? We can meet later and work out the details." Scrapper nodded agreement, and Starscream looked to Soundwave. "Which nuclear facility do we have the best chance of hitting fast and getting away clean from?" 

Soundwave was silent for a moment, then said, “Possible target location: 46.469 -119.332.”

Megatron was fuming silently. How dare the little fool just assume control of this meeting and begin making plans? 

“That’s near the Autobots,” Hook pointed out. 

Megatron halted the lecture he’d been about to begin on just who was the Decepticon ruler as realization struck. Being near the Autobots could work to his advantage as Prime was always turning up to interrupt his plans. He _did_ have a score to settle after all.

Starscream looked at Soundwave calmly for a moment. Something was off with the mech. He glanced at Megatron, then back to the telepath. Again he wondered if Soundwave had betrayed their drug destroying mission. No, his mates were right. If he had, then Starscream would be locked in the brig at the very best. It snapped into place suddenly as the memory of Megatron cruelly calling Soundwave a whore resurfaced. They were fighting. The seeker nearly laughed. He’d need to feel this out further, but not now. Instead he nodded to Soundwave in agreement of the target, and just to rub it in a little, he blinked innocent optics up at his leader. “What do you think, Mighty Megatron?”

Crimson optics narrowed dangerously, and Starscream blinked and rubbed tiredly at his optics again to distract himself from the laughter wanting to bubble out.

“Very well. We can attempt this little project of yours, Starscream. I will not, however, tolerate failure in this. You will put forth every effort and you will succeed, or I’ll permanently deactivate you.” Megatron glared hatefully at him for a moment. There was no reaction beyond a calm stare, and he had to suppress the urge to snarl and put his fist through the dark face. “You’re all dismissed,” he said. “Get to work. I want full progress reports in twenty-four hours. Soundwave. Release Laserbeak to investigate the target.”

Everyone but Soundwave filed out, he wavered, wanting to say something, but unable to string the emotions into thoughts.

Megatron glowered. “I believe I gave you an order.”

“Affirmative.” No hint of emotion.

Megatron clamped his jaw tight to hold back a growl, but then an idea surfaced. “Since you seem so interested in this project, I want you to help Starscream.” That should grate on the telepath’s circuits. “You have some technical abilities. I want daily progress reports on the conversion process.” Megatron turned away to hide his smile and walked to a console.

“Scientific experience: Limited.”

Megatron spun around and pinned Soundwave with furious glare. “You will assist Starscream in any capacity he requires, and send me those progress reports. Is there any confusion at all for you in that order, Soundwave?”

“Negative.”

“Dismissed.” Megatron turned away and listened to the telepath leave. He focused on the victorious feeling of putting the other mech in his place, and ignored the slight regretful twinge.

No! No there was no _twinge_!


	5. Chapter 5

_Meet me in the wash racks._

Sideswipe lurched from recharge at the sudden demand. _What?_

Sunstreaker’s irritation came through their bond. _Get up and meet me in the wash racks!_

_I’m trying to recharge, Sunny. I have yet **another** shift in just a couple cycles._

_Yeah well I’m filthy! I think Prowl took me on the dirtiest end shift circuit he could find._

Sideswipe sighed, and rolled to lie on his front side. _You’re being punished. You aren’t supposed to enjoy it._

_All that stupid slagging ‘Con’s fault! I can’t wait to get my hands on him!_

A loud groan left Sideswipe. How many times in the last few days had he heard that?

_Now come help me in the wash racks. I’m never going to get all this mud off!_

_You’re a big boy, Sunshine. I think you can wash behind your ears without me just this once._ Sideswipe withdrew from their bond and dropped back into recharge almost immediately.

“Wake up, Sides.”

Sideswipe groaned and pulled away. “Tol’ you I wasn’ gonna help you wash, Sunny.”

“I’m done.”

Sideswipe picked his head up and looked around to glare at his twin. _Then why are you waking me?_

Sunstreaker climbed over his brother and lay down on his side facing him. He began tracing words onto the smooth red back.

“You have got to be kidding me?!” Sideswipe snarled after a moment of deciphering, twisting himself away from the offending digit, and narrowing his optics at Sunstreaker.

 _Of course not. And it’s been days._ Sunstreaker paused to think. “In fact, that’s another reason to beat the slag out of that ‘Con. You’ve been all snippy with me since that incident, and it’d been a couple days since we’d had time anyways.” He reached out and forcibly dragged Sideswipe against him. _And I always want you so I don’t see why that’d come as a surprise._

Sideswipe twisted his face away as Sunstreaker pressed in for a kiss. He growled, and tried to work his hands into a position with more leverage when Sunstreaker simply nuzzled into his neck instead. “I’m really not in the mood.”

“I can put you in the mood,” Sunstreaker murmured, and nipped almost too roughly along the white jaw.

Sideswipe finally managed to get his hands placed solidly on Sunstreaker’s chest and shoved. He nearly threw himself from their berth when his twin suddenly let go. Blue optics gazed into his own, shining with mirth, and a slight smile played along his brother’s lips. “You’re such a jerk.”

 _You love me,_ Sunstreaker countered, and pulled Sideswipe back.

“Have to. You’re my twin,” Sideswipe muttered sullenly as his optics drifted shut and he allowed the kiss.

It was voracious. Sunstreaker squeezed him tightly and ravished his mouth almost to the point of pain. Sideswipe relaxed completely, knowing full well that if he tried resisting now, Sunstreaker would only get rougher. At times he was such a chore. _So lucky I love you._

 _Right. As if there’s anyone else out there that can do to you what I can._ Sunstreaker loosened his grasp and gentled the kiss. In sharp contrast to just moments before, he became loving, careful. Sunstreaker had switched into full ‘seduce and destroy with whimpering need’ mode. 

Experienced hands swept Sideswipe’s frame, stroking armor seams lightly. A warm tongue found every familiar nuance of his mouth, and drew forth a truly pleasured sigh. Sideswipe slipped his hands along sparkling golden shoulders and back plating, glad the ploy had been successful this time. Sometimes it wasn’t. If Sunstreaker was feeling too aggressive, challenging him would only make it worse. Or better, depending on one’s perspective. Those were the times they both ended up in medbay, laughing, completely sated, and in better moods. However, now would be a bad time to get into a ‘fight’ with his brother. They were in it deep enough just now. 

“There’s not. That mech doesn’t exist.” Sideswipe moaned, rolling to his back when his twin urged him. Fingers teased along sensor nodes and armor edges, and Sideswipe moaned again, winding his arms around Sunstreaker’s neck and arching up for another hungry kiss.

 _Tell me what you want,_ Sunstreaker whispered in his mind.

 _You. Always you._ Sideswipe arched up and flared out his spark energy.

Sunstreaker pulsed back sharply. _Don’t block me,_ he commanded, and felt as he was obeyed. He pressed down harder, digging his fingers beneath Sideswipe’s armor and thrusting his energy harshly against his twin’s spark.

Sideswipe cried out as he felt his _and_ Sunstreaker’s pleasure from the pulse. He tugged and shoved until he could get his hands into his twin’s wiring, and gasped as he felt four hands touching his internals instead of just two. One set almost, _almost_ gentle, the other harder and demanding. Energy crashed back and forth, wringing gasps and low moans from both of them. Sideswipe bucked hard and flipped them so he lay on top of Sunstreaker. He swept down, biting neck cables, and feeling the almost-pain on his own throat.

 _Don’t block me,_ Sideswipe demanded.

Sunstreaker was slower to comply than he had been, but when he did open to the bond, the feedback loop completed. The sensations from their spark pulses increased exponentially. Each felt his own pleasure, his twin’s, and the feedback echo. Sideswipe had once told Ratchet it was like looking at an image in a mirror reflecting another mirror. It went on forever.

Beneath him, Sunstreaker trembled and arched, his fingers gouging into Sideswipe’s armor. He reached back and interlaced their fingers, forcing their hands above Sunstreaker’s head, and crushed his lips to his twin’s.

Tingling pleasure rippled over circuits and through lines. Sunstreaker pulled his legs up and wrapped them around Sideswipe’s, forcing his energy to throb even faster. He gripped his twin’s hands tightly, and pressed up harder, trying to deepen the already violent press of their mouths.

Sideswipe pulled his face away with a growl, then burrowed into Sunstreaker’s throat. _I want to hear you._ He cycled a forceful, rapid thrust of energy, and bit down hard on the sensitive cables under Sunstreaker’s chin. 

Sunstreaker fought it at first, but as the pleasure ripped through his spark and flayed his circuits, he gave in and shouted, “Sides!” His voice came out slightly higher than normal before he forced his chin down and muffled a moan that spoke volumes of just how good the release felt.

Sideswipe held out, enjoying his twin’s surrender for a moment, then he let go and shivered, feeling the full effects of Sunstreaker’s release and his own. He gripped Sunstreaker’s hands even tighter, a gasp escaped, and his entire form stiffened, trembling uncontrollably before finally going completely limp.

“Aww… I yelled for you,” Sunstreaker said after a moment or two.

Sideswipe snorted a laugh, feeling his brother’s grin against his neck. “You didn’t ask.” He lifted his head and smiled before pressing a light kiss to Sunstreaker’s lips. He released his hold on Sunstreaker’s hands, and rolled off of him to snuggle back against his side, head resting on a golden shoulder.

 _Know you love me,_ Sunstreaker whispered, and wrapped his arms around his brother.

Sideswipe grinned and curled closer, kicking a leg over his brother’s. _Have to, Sunshine. You’re my twin._ He was back in recharge before Sunstreaker could fuss at him over the silly nickname again.

~ | ~

“Frelling-” The curse was cut short as Starscream jerked the circuit board loose. “Ha. Gotcha,” he muttered. Then, “Farking Pits!” He turned the small component in his hands. “Completely scrapped.”

Soundwave stepped quickly to the side, and out of the way as Starscream flung the broken item over his shoulder without looking.

“Wouldn’t even have to be doing this if it weren’t for those little idiots. Hope they…” Starscream’s low voice was muffled, the words becoming indistinct as, folding his wings down, he ducked under the console.

Soundwave raised an optic ridge at that. It was true only to a point, but he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to point that out to the temperamental seeker.

There was an electrical snap and a yelp, and Starscream jerked out, wings popping up as he swore roundly. Megatron’s name was heard by Soundwave, and his other optic ridge joined its mate at the creative and rather impossible suggestion. 

“Shut up, Warp!” Starscream snapped.

Soundwave stepped forward, intentionally scuffing his foot along the floor to announce his presence.

Starscream whipped his head around. “Oh, it’s just you,” he said, relaxing.

“Orders: Assist as required.”

Starscream snorted in derision. “And just how are you going to help? I can’t recall any time that you’d done anything even remotely as complicated as this.”

“Creations: Complex construction,” Soundwave responded.

“Yes, and look how those little glitches turned out.”

Soundwave bristled at the comment. When had Starscream ever done anything as complicated as give life? In fact, Soundwave was unaware of any currently living mech with the abilities to divide his spark and create a whole new life the way he could.

“You _are_ going to punish those little terrors for this, aren’t you? I know Megatron tends to leave them to you to handle.”

“Affirmative.”

Starscream paused, glancing over his shoulder, then twisted around and sat back, knees raised, ankles crossed with his arms loosely draped over them. He cocked his head up at Soundwave with a curious stare. “Why do you do that?”

Soundwave was confused by the question and the sincere inquisitiveness. “Elaborate,” he finally said.

Starscream huffed, and turned away to get back to work. He managed to free another panel, and looked it over before lightly tossing it into a small pile. “Speak in monotone,” he replied. “Why do you bother speaking with that vocal filter?” He smirked over his shoulder. “Did you have trouble with others taking you seriously?” The seeker giggled. _Giggled_! “You could melt the polar caps with that voice.” He yanked hard and tore loose a fistful of wires, casting a quick, almost flirtatious glance back over his shoulder. “Color me jealous.”

Soundwave stood stunned and amused. He really didn’t know what to make of Starscream at the moment. To be truthful, he’d forgotten that he’d allowed the seekers to hear his true voice. He’d done it for shock value, to be playful because he was happy and grateful to have succeeded in destroying the drug, and to be perfectly honest he probably wasn’t operating at capacity at the time. Offlining from the release had most likely glitched his logic as well as the shock of Megatron accusing-

And just like that his tentative peaceful mood evaporated. Soundwave shook himself mentally and crouched down next to the seeker, continuing to speak with the filter. “Instructions?”

“Dismantle,” Starscream said mockingly, using a monotone too, and pointing at the converter with the tool in his hand.

Soundwave picked up a wrench and began loosening the outer panels.

“If something can be reused it goes in these piles over here. If not, toss it toward the door. It can be smelted for something else later,” Starscream told him.

Rather than speak, Soundwave nodded.

They worked in silence for a while before the seeker began muttering to himself again. Soundwave glanced over to see Starscream lying on his back, head and shoulders out of sight within the workings of the console. He was tugging at something above his head. Soundwave focused more on what the other was saying.

“Going to need better wiring. Too old. Brittle.” He jerked his arms down and threw what came loose out toward the door. “Circuit boards too.” A sigh. “Frelling waste!” Another jerk, and another wad of multi-hued, melted wires followed.

Soundwave cycled his vents quietly, and began removing the bolts from another panel. He became so used to the quiet and constant chatter that he no longer paid it any attention.

“Are you going to answer me, or ignore me all day?”

Soundwave looked over to Starscream, and blinked in surprise to see two crimson optics staring rather serenely at him. He returned the stare a moment, then said, “Repeat query.”

Starscream sighed dramatically. “I said, do you at least stand up for yourself with him?" He tipped his head to the side a bit as Soundwave remained silent. “Megatron,” he clarified, thinking the telepath didn’t know who he was referring to.

“Information unnecessary.”

Starscream turned back to his work and began inspecting the circuit board in his hands before tossing it into the ‘keep’ pile. “Well, you can believe I wouldn't put up with my mates calling _me_ a whore. That _was_ out of line of him. I know I’ve said it, but it's completely different coming from the one who's _supposed_ to care about you.”

Soundwave stared in stunned silence. Just what was the crazy mech playing at now?

“Megatron seems…” Starscream trailed off, and seemed to consider. “Tense.” He gave Soundwave a penetrating look. “Doesn’t it bother you that he merges with you, but clearly desires me?” Soundwave flinched before he could stop the reaction, but Starscream seemed not to notice as he’d gone back to picking through the inner workings of the broken converter. “It’d bother me,” came the muffled voice.

Starscream sat back on his heels and looked at Soundwave. “Actually, it does bother me.” He shivered. “Just how long has he wanted me?”

“Information unnecessary.”

Starscream scowled at Soundwave in irritation. “It _is_ necessary if my ofttimes violent commander has wanted to do unspeakable things to me.” There was a pause and another shudder, this one slightly more intense. “I’ve had quite enough of that sort of interest.”

There was a moment of silence as Starscream seemed to be lost in thought. Soundwave gently probed at his defenses, but could not get beyond a vague sense of true disgust.

Starscream slipped sideways and leaned his back against the converter console. “Does he take some perverse pleasure in the beatings he gives me?” he asked barely above a whisper, one hand coming up to his mouth. His fingertips rested in shock against his lips, and he looked up into Soundwave’s optics with his own wide and… frightened. “Does he- Does it-”

Starscream looked away, posture and faster intake rate betraying his anxiety. He looked beseechingly at Soundwave. “Is that why he’s never slagged me completely for my scheming? He can’t bring himself to kill me because then I wouldn’t be around to lust after anymore?”

Soundwave remained kneeling, frozen to the spot, as memories flashed through his mind. Megatron’s voice echoing with desire, not for him, but for the attractive seeker. Megatron glaring up at him from his position over Starscream while caressing the seeker’s chest and canopy, just like Soundwave had known he desired to do for so very long. The memory of being kissed by Megatron, only to have his thoughts of wanting to do the same to Starscream echo in Soundwave’s mind, all washed through him.

Soundwave stood abruptly and left. Had he glanced back, he would have seen the vicious smirk curling Starscream’s lips.

 _Oh bravo!_ Skywarp snickered in Starscream’s mind. _I haven’t seen you put that much effort into tormenting Soundwave in a long time!_

 _Was good, wasn’t it?_ Starscream chuckled to himself. _Serves him right. I certainly don’t need a babysitter to do my work. Speaking of. I have plenty to do._ He narrowed the bond a bit, and got back to work.

All was calm for a while, other than the intermittent complaints and muttered curses. Starscream was making good progress when he sensed his mate’s presence some time later.

Skywarp took in his bonded’s position lying on the floor and half hidden under the console. “Who are you talking to?” 

“What?”

“You were just talking. Explaining things. But there’s no one else here.”

Starscream slid out from under the console, propping himself up on his elbows, and watched as Skywarp looked around the area suspiciously. “That Autobot isn’t in here again, is he?”

“Of course not. Why would I explain anything to an Autobot? And I wasn’t talking.”

“Yes, you were,” Skywarp insisted, and dropped himself down over Starscream’s hips. “Just like you always do when you’re really irritated about something or all involved.” He was met with a blank stare. “You didn’t know?” Skywarp chuckled. “Oh good, then it’s ok that I never listen!”

Starscream gave him an irritated look. “What are you doing down here?”

“I brought you some energon!” Skywarp answered, and bent over to peck a quick kiss to his mate’s lips. He purred, enjoying the contact, and so stayed there and pressed in a little more firmly.

Starscream dropped back to escape the smoldering heat he could sense in his bonded. “This is starting to become a habit. Aren’t you supposed to be on duty?” Starscream asked, tone reprimanding.

”I am on duty!” Skywarp responded brightly. “I’m on guard duty, and we’re completely safe.” He pulled out the energon cube from his subspace. “Now. Who’s your hero?” 

Starscream chuckled, and took the energon. Sitting up, he pressed his lips hotly against Skywarp’s, swiping his tongue across the lower one in a lusty caress. “Thank you. Now get out. I’m not merging with you in here.”

Skywarp pouted, and Starscream found himself thinking of biting his lip.

Skywarp gave him a mischievous grin. “How about out in the hall?” He dodged, giggling, as Starscream threw the empty energon cube at him.

 _Incorrigible brat._ Starscream was met with nothing more than Skywarp’s laughter for his effort and went back to work.

~ | ~

Soundwave lay still on his berth, listening to the mental chatter of his creations and allowing it to soothe his spark. He despised having to punish them, but Rumble and Frenzy truly had done it this time. They were lucky that Megatron allowed him to handle their discipline. He forced his limbs to relax further, and focused on each of his creations, checking their reactions to their current environments.

His foremost concern rested with Laserbeak, who was currently tucked high in a tree and observing the night activities at the human nuclear plant.

 _There isn’t much going on right now,_ Laserbeak said in answer to Buzzsaw’s query. _Those on duty at night are fewer than during the day._

 _Calm here as well_ , Buzzsaw relayed. _Our Creator is here, so I suppose I’m off duty now and any trouble Rumble causes is no longer my responsibility._

 _Hey!_ Rumble cried. Laughter came through from Frenzy. _Don’t know why yer laughin’! You get to put all the surveillance back together._

_Least Dad didn’t ground me and stick me with a babysitter all day._

Buzzsaw huffed an irritated sigh, and realized Soundwave wasn’t going to step in. _Stop calling him by that human term._

 _Isn’t it interesting, how only the two of you are ever in trouble out of the five of us?_ Ravage added.

 _Can it, Kitty! You got busted just a few months ago for chewin’ up Screamer’s microconverter._ Rumble crossed his arms over his chest, sulking.

There was a disdainful sniff. _He deserved that._

Soundwave smiled behind his mask, and blocked them from hearing his mental chuckle.

 _He did,_ Laserbeak agreed. _Are you making any progress, Frenzy?_

_Not much yet._

_Need any help?_ Rumble giggled.

_No!_

_Ya sure?_ Rumble teased, and by Frenzy’s surprised squeak and their sudden drop from the collective link, Soundwave knew what Rumble was up to. He latched onto Rumble mentally and barricaded him within a mental web.

 _Daaad!_ Rumble protested.

 _Desist,_ Soundwave commanded. His creation complied after a brief struggle that was mostly for show, going limp mentally as well as physically. The telepath relaxed his psychic grip and allowed Rumble to rejoin his brothers in the collective link.

It was quiet for a few moments. Someone tried to suppress a snerk. Buzzsaw forced a cough, and then nearly choked for real when Rumble glared up at him. Frenzy giggled, and that set the rest of them off. Even Ravage chuckled.

 _Shut up jerks!_ Rumble pouted. He rolled over from where he lay at the bottom end of Soundwave’s berth and crawled up to curl against his creator’s side. 

Soundwave scooped an arm around his creation, holding him in place as Rumble snuggled in and prepared to recharge. He sent a private warning to Buzzsaw when he would have cooed mockingly at his elder brother.

 _Frenzy, return. You may continue in the morning,_ Soundwave ordered. He would prefer to have all of creations home with him tonight, but Laserbeak would be gone for a few more days, and Ravage was on duty. He would make due. 

Buzzsaw glided down gracefully, and tucked himself in close against Soundwave’s right shoulder and neck joint. _Good night, Creator._


	6. Chapter 6

Frenzy stiffened instinctually as quiet footsteps moved toward his location.

 _What gives, Bro?_ asked Rumble from their quarters. It was only the second day, but he was bored with his punishment already.

 _Someone’s comin’ and they’re tryin’ ta be quiet._ Frenzy slipped easily out of the wall where he’d been rewiring the corridor surveillance and looked around. “Swindle,” he said in a flat tone, pushing the link open more so for Rumble to hear. Just in case.

“Now why would you say it like that? I was just wandering around and noticed ya half in the wall. What’re you doing anyways?”

 _Oh, he’s up ta somethin’,_ Rumble said without a shred of doubt.

 _No shit._ Frenzy glared through his visor up at the con-artist. “Repairin’ the internal surveillance systems,” Frenzy said slowly, voice heavily laced with suspicion. “Whazit to ya?”

“Why’re ya doing that?” Swindle sat down on the floor near Frenzy and cocked his head in a show of curiosity.

 _He doesn’t really think yer buyin’ this, does he?_ asked Rumble with a slight laugh.

 _Dunno._ Frenzy stared quietly at Swindle. “Cuz Soundwave told me to. Whazit to ya?”

The Combaticon shrugged. “Nothing at first, but it does give me an idea.” Frenzy watched as Swindle pretended to think and tried not to give in to the giggles at the ridiculous expression. Rumble’s snickers weren’t helping. “I’m sure you’ve heard about Screamer and his mates’ little escapade in the Rec Room a couple mornings ago, right?”

Frenzy nodded, willing to play along for the moment. “Heard somethin’ ‘bout that.”

Swindle nodded. “Yeah.” He chuckled. “Walked right in on the end of that bit o’ fun. Screamer really is a screamer.”

 _No shit,_ Rumble said wryly, then slyly continued, _Ya should tell ‘im ‘bout what I saw. Maybe he’ll slip up ‘bout what he’s after._

Frenzy leaned back against the wall in a careless pose. “So Rumble says.” At Swindle’s interested look, he grinned. “So whatcha wanna know ‘bout my little task here fer?”

Swindle smiled slyly. “Ok.” He leaned forward a bit. “So tell me, this repair work you’re doing, is it official?”

Beneath his visor, Frenzy raised an optic ridge. “Not so much,” he answered carefully. “Soundwave’s implementin’ new security measures on Megs’ orders. Repairin’ the monitorin’ equipment is my job.”

“Mmmhmm.” Swindle continued to grin. “So this being a ‘not so much’ officially sanctioned operation, that mean that the unthinking masses would be unaware of it?”

 _I think I see where this is goin’,_ Rumble said.

 _Me too_. Frenzy matched the sneaky smirk the Combaticon wore. “Fer the most part, yeah.” He stared silently into sly, glowing optics. No way was he going to help the slagger along with his plots.

Swindle pressed his lips into a thin line, the only outward appearance of his irritation with Frenzy. It was quickly replaced by another greasy smile. “So say… Starscream? He doesn’t know about it?”

“Doubtful.”

Swindle sat up straight and glanced around.

“We’re alone,” Frenzy supplied.

_Well, except fer me._

_If he’s too dumb ta know yer listenin’, then too bad. I’d’ve toldja anyways_. Frenzy suppressed an chuckle. Too many Decepticons underestimated them. All the better.

“You’re sure?” Swindle asked. At Frenzy’s nod, he leaned back down and lowered his voice. “See, I’ve heard rumors now for a while about those seekers, and then after seein’ it for myself, thought it’d be a fun distraction to start a little game. Just a sharing of personal interests, if you will.”

_Bingo!_

Frenzy fought the laugh that wanted to bubble out, and played dumb. “What kinda game?”

Swindle gave him a disbelieving look. “Please,” he said flatly. “You and your brother are both clever enough to have figured me out by now. ‘What kinda game?’” he scoffed. “A profitable game. A betting pool.”

“Bettin’ pool could be fun.” Frenzy pretended to consider for a moment. “So ya wanna use my ‘not so much’ officially ordered work here to… what? Keep an audial out for seeker sex acts?” He made a disgusted face. “Not sure I’d want any part of that.”

 _Oooo. Well played._ Rumble giggled.

 _Thank you!_ Frenzy kept the disgust glued to his face, and waited Swindle out.

Swindle sighed, and decided to pitch the plan instead of trying to wheedle the little hacker into helping. “Ok, look. The betting pool would be on all sorts of stuff. Stuff everyone already bets on. How bad will the boss slag Screamer? Will the idiot manage a successful take over? Will that Autobot I slagged be deactivated permanent-like?” He grinned wickedly. “Where, oh where will little Screamer get seduced next? Will Megatron find out? And for that matter, it’d just be plain fun to be able to see Screamer getting his aft kicked by the boss without being anywhere near enough to be collateral damage.”

Frenzy pretended to think it over. “Just how profitable?”

“Five percent.”

“Slag off! Yer askin’ me ta bug the surveillance -somethin’ that’d get my aft _so_ slagged- and ya offer a measly five percent? Pffsshh! Whatever!” Frenzy shook his helm. “Not even gonna think about how I could do it for less than twenty.”

“Twenty?!” Swindle exclaimed. “I might - _big_ might- be persuaded to cut you in for oh… eight percent. _If_ your plan’s a good one.”

Frenzy considered. “I could rig the audio easily enough. No way would I be able ta do the video without Soundwave pickin’ up on it though. Where would ya want the receiver? And regardless of yer answer, I won’t do it for less than eighteen percent.”

Optics glowing in excitement, Swindle leaned in even closer. “The Rec Room would be good. Everyone could gather. Don’t want anyone claiming that they’d been cheated or something. And I couldn’t possibly do more than ten percent.”

“Rec Room would work. Where would you want ta be able ta pick up audio from? But ten percent is pretty low. I got Rumble ta think of too, ya know. He’s in on this as much as me.” Frenzy did a little fast calculating himself. How long it would take, versus the risk of getting caught, sharing with his twin, and possibly their other brothers as bribery for getting caught by them. He wasn’t fool enough to think his family of spies wouldn’t figure something out. “I think seventeen percent would be fair.”

“What?!” The Combaticon sat up straight. “You’re killin’ me. I’ve got cost and labor to figure in. This is gonna be huge!” He sighed.

Frenzy cut in with the one point that was irrefutable. “Ya can’t do it without me though, and all I’d hafta do is go and tell that ya asked, and ya’d be so slagged.”

Swindle raised a hand up to his chest, covering his spark in mock distress. “You wound me! We’re talking business here. No need to go making threats.” He cocked his head to the side. “You do have a point though. I’ll give you fifteen. Final offer.”

 _Well?_ Frenzy asked.

_Fifteen’s good. Gives us a chance ta get back at Screamer too._

“Ok,” Frenzy said. Swindle put his fist out, but the Cassetticon held up his hand. “One final stipulation.”

“You’re killin’ me.”

“Automatic deal breaker. My family stays out of this game of yers. No bets about Soundwave, me or my brothers. Got it?”

Swindle thought for a moment. “That’s fair enough. Wouldn’t really want to irritate your creator anyways. I like being alive and mentally intact. Oh, and everywhere. We should be able to pick up audio from all over.”

“Done.” Frenzy put out his fist and lightly punched it against Swindle’s. “Deal then. I’ll letchya know once I have everything set up.”

 _Gonna be so fun!_ Rumble giggled maniacally.

~ | ~

“Mornin’, Prowler! Sunshine!” Jazz called out as he left the Ark and stood next to Optimus Prime.

“Don’t call me that!” Sunstreaker snarled as he huffed past.

“I concur. Don’t call me that.” Prowl’s mouth quirked though in a slight grin at the eccentric spy.

Prime followed Sunstreaker’s path with his optics. “How is he doing, Prowl?”

“Discontent,” the tactician responded. “He’s not pleased with the situation at all, and still hasn’t taken any personal responsibility for it.”

Optimus had been about to comment when his comm unit beeped. “Prime here.”

“Optimus, I'm gettin' a report from a human nuclear power facility sayin' that they've spotted some possible Decepticon activity nearby,” Wheeljack relayed.

“Where at?” Prime asked.

“Let's see here... Says its name is WNP 2. They’re out on the Oregon border. Could get somebody out there in justa a cycle or so ta check it out.” 

Jazz tipped his head a bit. “I’m just the mech for the job!”

Optimus Prime nodded his assent. “Be cautious and stay out of sight of everyone.”

“It’ll also be markedly more dangerous ta fight near than your standard electrical facility or hydro-generator plant,” Wheeljack added through the comm.

Prowl stood quietly for a moment. “Send me detailed specs of the landscape once you’re there, Jazz. If the Decepticons do attack, maybe there will be a way to draw them off.”

“Regular check-in intervals,” Optimus ordered. “Don't take any unnecessary risks. If the Decepticons are going to attack such a volatile area then we need to be properly prepared.”

“Now, Optimus, don't worry ya’self about it. I know what I'm doin.” Jazz flashed a playful grin. He then threw Prime and Prowl a jaunty salute before dashing away from the _Ark_ ’s entrance. He gave an acrobatic leap, transforming midair before landing, tires spinning and kicking up smoke as he sped away.

“He’d better hope Ratchet doesn’t see him pulling stunts like that,” Prowl said with a slight grin for the antics.

“Mmm,” was all Prime replied with. He watched until he could no longer see the morning sun glinting off the white Porsche.

~ | ~

Megatron was the last to arrive for the morning meeting. Everyone watched as he took his customary place at the head of the table. “Report,” he barked, and busied himself settling in.

No one spoke. More, Soundwave did not speak.

 _Odd_ , thought Starscream. They all knew the report Megatron wanted most was on what Laserbeak had discovered. The spy had been out for nearly an earth week on reconnaissance. Why wouldn’t Soundwave speak up? Starscream lifted an optic ridge in curiosity when Megatron’s glare landed on him. “Fine,” he said, his confusion coloring his voice. “The conversion system is completely offline. There really isn’t anything else I can do until we acquire the needed supplies.”

“That’s it?” Megatron snapped. “ _That’s_ your report?”

Starscream cringed away at the tone. Fists usually followed that tone. “What else would there be?”

“Report: Sufficient.” It was debatable as to whether Megatron or Starscream looked more surprised by Soundwave’s interruption. The telepath, however, paid no mind to it and continued. “Laserbeak’s findings.” Soundwave plugged a cord from his wrist into the table’s console. Blue holographic symbols and pictures lit the center of the Conference Room table.

“Security and staffing are minimal in the predawn hours,” Starscream pointed out with a sneer. “The less humans in the way the better.“ He studied the data a moment longer, then said, “I could easily take the squads in like the last run. Soundwave can be present in case we need extra energon cubes. It will be a larger haul this time.”

“You will do no such thing!” Megatron raged. “Send Ramjet’s trine ahead of us to keep look out for the Autobots.” He glared at Hook. “I want Devastator on hand in case of an attack.”

Starscream interrupted. “Taking so many troops will only alert the Autobots. A smaller team has a better chance of getting in and out successfully.” 

Starscream cowered back from the fist suddenly raised above him. Too late. It fell with a resounding _clang_ against his left shoulder vent. “You’d do well to remember just who is ruler of the Decepticons.” Megatron straightened glaring at each mech in turn. “I want everyone charged, armed, and ready to leave at midnight.”

No one moved. No one dared, and Megatron didn’t wait on them before charging out. Starscream found himself sharing a stunned look with the telepath. At least Soundwave seemed to look confused, as much as one could with their entire face hidden. _What the fark was that?_

_Unknown._

~ | ~

“If you’re not dying, get out.”

“Pleasure to see you too, Ratchet,” Prowl said calmly.

The medic looked up from his datapad. “You don’t look wounded.”

Prowl suppressed the urge to sigh, as he often did around Ratchet, and chose to ignore the snarky comment. “It should be any time now. The last report from Jazz said that Laserbeak had left. That can only mean the main Decepticon forces will be coming.”

“So we’re leaving?” Ratchet asked, raising an optic ridge. “You could have commed me. Or simply did a ship wide announcement.”

Prowl took a seat and stared steadily at Ratchet. “Not yet. Optimus doesn’t want to tip our hat.”

“Hand,” Ratchet corrected automatically.

“What?”

“Hand. He doesn’t want to tip our hand is how the saying goes.” The medic smirked. “So we’re waiting on word from Jazz still?”

“Yes.” Prowl rose to leave when his comm beeped. “Prowl here.”

“Jazz just reported in,” Optimus Prime relayed. “Three jets just did a flyby of the power plant. Gather the troops, and meet me by the enterance.”

“Yes, sir.” Prowl looked over at Ratchet. “Now, it’s time.”


	7. Chapter 7

Jazz lay still beneath the dense foliage. The night had long since fallen, and from his spot on the hill he had a clear view of the power plant and the branch Laserbeak had occupied. He had carefully chosen this spot three days ago, being absolutely certain that the sun and moon wouldn't glint off the pearlescent white of his armor. Of course, only luck and instincts honed to a fine edge had kept him from being discovered as he crept up on the human facility. Laserbeak's optic had reflected just a tiny light, but enough for Jazz to freeze mid-movement and seek the source of the red flash. Another half-step and he would have crossed right into the Decepticon’s scan.

Jazz checked in again, nothing more than a short blip to let his friends know he was alive and kicking. It was made at irregular intervals so anyone who did manage to pick up the secure transmission would not find a pattern. He’d had to risk an actual report when Laserbeak had taken off, but it -like his check-in blip- was sent through a half dozen relay points he'd left along his path that would flare it out in another dozen directions, each making it difficult to trace back to the source. Shortly after his coded message, humans had begun calmly but quickly leaving the facility. He could only assume his comrades had alerted them.

He lay quietly, just waiting now. With the reconnaissance finished, the Decepticons should be coming in soon. They'd run a successful mission a few weeks before, where even the humans hadn’t known they’d been there until the next day and their reports were compiled. Mass amounts of energy had been taken. Jazz wondered if that was the intent this time. It was amazingly cautious and well thought out if so.

A rumble began in the distance, and Jazz set his audials to a more sensitive level. Jets. He watched as within moments three fighter jets rocketed past. It was time to risk another transmission.

“Jazz to base.”

“Base here. Go ‘head, Jazz,” answered Wheeljack.

“Jus’ hada flyby. Y’all better get your afts down here pronto. Jazz out.” He severed the link quickly, and tamped down on his energy field emissions again as the rumble drew closer from a new trajectory. This time the jets flew over more slowly. Jazz shut down all but his most critical systems and hunkered as close to the ground as he could get. The scan washed over him like a fog.

~ | ~

Boisterous laughter brought the mission required radio silence to an end. 

“You’re going to give our position up if you keep that up, Thrust,” Misfire commented tensely over their short range comm. The newest addition to their trine was still seemingly nervous with the new arrangement, knowing that he wasn’t the strongest flier. 

Ramjet grunted slightly, he had been testy the entire mission, obviously resentful of being tasked with reconnaissance. “Just who is going to pick up transmissions out here? There’s nothing around this place but trees.” 

“The sooner we get off this flat, boring rock pile the better!” Thrust added.

“At least scramble the comm so we can’t be traced!” Misfire could already recognize when Thrust was about to go into a lengthy complaint. “The Air Commander will be very displeased with us if the Autobots are drawn here because of us.”

“Let them come!” Thrust scoffed, wavering in and out of formation as his engines roared in excitement. “We’ll destroy them all!” 

“Worry more about what Megatron would do. Ramjet to Starscream,” Ramjet called over the Air Command’s own secure channel.

“Report,” Starscream’s scratchy voice ordered in reply.

“No sightings of the Autobots, but it’s a lot quieter than Laserbeak’s report said it should be.”

“Rescan the area.”

The three jets banked hard at the command. “Running third pass now. Standby.” A moment later, Ramjet relayed, “No sign of them. Definitely less organics than expected.”

Silence reigned for a moment, but then Starscream said, “I want the three of you to stay on recon. Widen the search parameters and radio _me_ if you get so much as a ping on your radar.”

“Acknowledged. Ramjet out.” He switched to his trine’s private frequency. “We’re on lookout.” He banked gently left, and led Thrust and Misfire in another, wider sweep of the area.

~ | ~

Jazz checked his internal chronometer again. _C’mon guys!_ he silently pleaded, and watched as more Decepticons than he would ever have expected touched down in the large parking lot of the nuclear power plant.

_Slag me! Fragger bring all of them?_ Which would be unusual, and was disconcerting. Checking his chrono again, Jazz suppressed an impatient sigh. Even had the others rolled out the instant he sent the message he was still looking at a quarter cycle before they arrived. He set himself to analyzing the enemy’s positions. The more he could relay to Prowl when they got close, the better off they’d be.

~ | ~

Starscream landed lightly and looked around. _Quiet._

_Yeah,_ Skywarp agreed in a serious tone. _A little **too** quiet._

A snerk escaped Thundercracker, earning him a vicious glare from Megatron.

“Get to work!” Megatron snapped, and began issuing orders to others. “Hook! I want Devastator ready for…” 

Starscream blocked him out as he moved to follow Soundwave, and opened the Air Command’s closed frequency. “They know we’re here. Ramjet, Thrust, Misfire, fan out. Do not engage without authorization from me. The rest of you will gather energon for transport. If there’s an attack, Thundercracker and Skywarp, you’re with me. Slugslinger and Triggerhappy, stay with Soundwave and head to base when your payload is full.”

Megatron snarled in irritation, “Starscream!” The seeker turned, crossing his arms over his chest, a bored expression gracing his features. “Use the main channels!”

Starscream shrugged. “As you wish, leader,” he said sweetly, turning away. He would do no such thing when ordering his seekers in combat. He never had. The background buzz of activity was too distracting to both the air teams and the ground pounders. Flight orders and suggested maneuvers flowed quickly between the seekers. No, whatever had tweaked the tyrant’s transistors out of sync had made the fool just that much more violent and controlling. Starscream caught sight of the telepath. _I bet I know what happened too._

_What’s that, Sweetling?_ Skywarp asked, and loaded another cube into Slugslinger’s cargo hold.

_Just thinking. Keep moving. The faster we get this done and can leave, the better._

_Thought you wanted to avenge me?_ Thundercracker said, and cast a quick, playful pout in Starscream’s direction.

_I will, but the energon is more critical at the moment. We’ll have plenty of chances to slag that trigger-happy twit._

Slugslinger bounced a little on his landing gear. “I can’t believe how fast the cubes fill here!”

Triggerhappy chuckled a little at his wingmate’s awe. “Maybe we can have another party like last time?”

Starscream thumped his hand down rather roughly on the other seeker’s nosecone. “Even if we did, the two of you wouldn’t be involved. You’re still being punished for your stupidity from the last party.”

Decepticons stood near, some with their weapons ready just in case, a few loading full cubes, and a few more, patiently waiting to have their loads completed. They all laughed. 

“Nothin’ like thrill-seekin’ flyboys!” Frenzy chortled, and cast an amused and sly glance at the Air Commander.

Starscream didn’t catch the look but Thundercracker did, and kicked him for it. “Oops! Sorry, short stuff.”

Frenzy didn’t believe him for a second.

~ | ~

_Armed humans closing on your position, Creator. Orders?_ Buzzsaw asked, excitement tinting his voice.

_Well, they’re stupid!_ Frenzy said, and Rumble laughed.

_Distract them,_ Soundwave ordered, and calmly continued to make energon cubes for the others to fill.

_Why’s Dad usin’ the filter with us?_ Rumble asked through the carefully narrow link to his twin.

_Dunno. I’m not getting’ much from him at all lately._

Buzzsaw’s laughter was heard through their link then, as well as laser fire. Organic screams rent the air. _They’ve taken cover,_ he reported. _I’ll be sure to keep them there._

_I’m with ya, Saw!_ Rumble cackled gleefully, and darted around the silo.

~ | ~

Things had been going quickly and well for a while when Ramjet’s voice cut in to the seekers. “Company coming,” he said.

“Idiots,” Thrust added. “They’re heading straight in from the north and not even bothering to hide themselves.”

“Stay out of range,” Starscream warned, and flipped to the main channel. “The Autobots will be arriving momentarily, _Lord_ Megatron.” He relayed the coordinates Ramjet gave him, and turned back to his mates. _Guess we get to play after all._

“Those with full loads, leave now,” Megatron bellowed over the comms. “Soundwave, report.”

“Progress: Sixty-two percent.”

Megatron smiled maliciously. It was time to pay back those fools for their daring. “Devastator to the front. Form the lines and destroy any Autobot you see! Optimus Prime is mine!”

~ | ~

Prowl transformed well short of the Decepticon’s attack range. He glanced at Optimus and nodded once before turning his attention back to the enemy army.

“Whatcha think, Prowler.” Jazz suddenly appeared at Prowl’s elbow, and immediately began to transfer his intel to the tactician.

“That I’m glad we brought almost everyone.” He quickly began running simulations through his tactical processors and relaying the best spots by private comm channel to Optimus, who began issuing orders.

They watched as Megatron stepped to the front. “Be ready, everyone,” Prime said quietly over the channel.

“Prime!” Megatron shouted. “Are you coming down, or shall we come up to destroy you?”

Autobot weapons hummed to life.

“Come and get us,” Optimus growled back.

Megatron waved Devastator forward, and he charged toward the Autobots. The Autobots moved quickly after that, battle cries and laser fire rending the air. Prowl motioned Ratchet and Bluestreak to follow him, and headed east up a small incline, motioning his small group to cover. “Make every shot count, Bluestreak.” 

The sharpshooter nodded, and knelt down, ignoring the loud roar that rose above the sound of battle as he tended to his weapon.

“Me Grimlock destroy them Decepticons!” the Dinobot roared. “Dinobots, follow!”

Prowl’s hands curled into fists as he saw the defensive line break as the Dinobots moved to follow their insubordinate leader past the oncoming offensive line and toward the facility and those trying to get away with their payloads. 

“Grimlock! Hold the line!” Optimus’ order echoed helplessly through the chaos of battle as it was summarily ignored. Prime was sent on the defensive as a fusion cannon blast fired blindingly across the battlefield. Prowl saw as he spun expertly out of the way of the blast, sank down to one knee and returned fire. “Take down Devastator!” 

Prowl switched plans, sending out comm orders left and right to try to help tighten the weakness created by the Dinobots as he moved a little further down the slope, then raised his rifle, joining the battle.

~ | ~

Starscream stepped back and looked intently at the firefight going on in the distance, noting positions of the Autobots he could make out even as he searched for his mate’s torturer. “Go,” he ordered Slugslinger and Triggerhappy. “Thundercracker, Skywarp, on me.” He launched into the air.

_Come on, Warp, focus for us,_ Thundercracker said picking up on his bonded’s mental images and amusement at Starscream’s choice of words.

Skywarp chuckled and followed his mates into the sky.

“Ramjet!” Starscream shouted. “Strafe their line!” He transformed, and heard as his mates did as well. Starscream launched himself upward, banking sharply. “Over you, head on.”

“Acknowledged.”

Starscream watched as the other seekers dropped altitude slightly, firing along the Autobots’ front line, though both trines continued to fly directly at each other.

_I see him,_ growled Thundercracker in rage, and his mates felt a jumbled swell of emotions not commonly associated with him.

_You have nothing to fear, Love. He’s scrap!_ Starscream snarled.

They braced as Ramjet led his wingmates beneath them and they crossed into the other trine’s wake. They rained down a hail of suppressive fire for the first pass.

“Ironhide is ours!” Starscream proclaimed, and forgetting he was a bit more maneuverable than his mates, braked, flipped, and rolled to head straight back the way they’d come, vapor spraying off of his wings at the sharp maneuver. He swooped into a dive, charging his blaster and firing.

It was a perfect shot.

But then some big clunky, dark colored Autobot jumped between the shot and Ironhide. _Trailbreaker!_ Starscream screeched mentally as his shot was absorbed by the force shield. Starscream fired wildly, screaming obscenities the whole way.

_Incoming!_ Thundercracker shouted, and he felt them break in separate directions.

Following the mental flash, Starscream rolled right and put on a burst of speed, dodging shots from the ground. Rear sensors indicated Sideswipe dropping back to the ground less than gracefully, and Sunstreaker firing short bursts at them. _No,_ Starscream hissed in fury. Sunstreaker was aiming for Thundercracker! _I’m going to rip him to shreds!_

_I’m helping!_ Skywarp’s voice had taken on a malicious edge, and Starscream was reminded of the often-hidden cruel streak in his mate as visions of a dead Sunstreaker flashed quickly in his mind.

Starscream took them in a loop over the Decepticon forces. Megatron was grappling with Prime below, and Devastator was trying to smash Autobots into the ground with his hands, growling in frustration as each blow came up lacking the satisfying crunch of twisted metal that he expected. The rest of the forces were either desperately trying to collect and load as much energon as possible, or firing in random bursts at the attacking Autobots. Starscream scanned the collection site, and noticed that Soundwave was about to have company in the large and dumb variety. 

Starscream swung out again, relaying flight plans and orders to Ramjet to take on the Dinobots. “And by the Pit!! Don’t hit the reactors!”

_Low, fast and hard,_ Thundercracker rumbled as he and his bondmates lined up their next run.

Sudden inspiration striking, Starscream quickly rearranged his mates. He traded places with Thundercracker, allowing his bonded the center position. They raced low over the Decepticon forces.

“Starscream!” Megatron raged through his comm. “What do you think you’re doing, you worthless slag heap?! Get the energon!”

Starscream ignored the shouting completely. Wordlessly, he and Skywarp took the forward positions. A separate part of him thrilled at the new formation. They’d never be able to fly this close without the bond. The rear edges of his and Skywarp’s wings were less than one of his own finger’s breadths away from the lead edge of Thundercracker’s. He had to stop himself from racing off in sheer pleasure of the flight. Skywarp’s merry laughter was a stark contrast to the deadly chaos below.

_Take him apart!_ Starscream said, the fervent hate and elation mixing, giving his voice an odd tone. 

They fired in concert, banking sharply and scattering after the quick pass. 

_I hit him!_ Thundercracker shouted excitedly. _Slagger! I farking know I hit him!_

_Again!_ Starscream shrieked. He twirled in the air, swinging with precision back into formation with his mates.

Thundercracker’s hatred loomed forward through the bond with the memories of the attack he suffered, using it to fuel his own lust for vengeance as well as that of his mates. They fired again, Autobots scattering before them.

~ | ~

Soundwave brought his weapons online, and ordered the energon-bearing Decepticons away. Laser fire peppered the ground, causing most of the Dinobots to halt and begin firing up at the seekers above. Grimlock charged forward, however, casting those Decepticons trying to defend the energon collectors aside like toys.

_Frenzy!_ Soundwave shouted mentally.

Unfortunately, the Cassetticon had committed to the attack already, and leapt onto Grimlock, quickly scrabbling for purchase on the smooth armor. Grimlock roared, too short arms flailing, body thrashing. Frenzy worked a bit higher and managed to get an arm beneath the Dinobot’s plating. Roars of pain echoed off the silos, and in an extraordinary show of neck contortion, Grimlock twisted and caught Frenzy in his jaws. 

The scream of agony tore straight through Soundwave’s spark. Perception of time slowed, and he was aware of Ravage dashing after his younger brother as the Dinobot threw Frenzy aside.

Frenzy’s form crumpled and slid, sparking from various open wounds, down the side of the water tower. Ravage reached him and yowled in fury, turning and rushing back for an attack. Time snapped forward, and blinding rage colored Soundwave’s vision in true red. With less than a thought he focused and sent a dual psychic and sonic attack against the Dinobot.

Grimlock twisted and thrashed, then stumbled back. Too late, Soundwave realized his mistake as the Dinobot’s tail slammed into Ravage and threw him away to land near Frenzy, body armor taking heavy damage from the crushing impact. In the next instant Grimlock crashed into the water coolant tower behind him. Thick concrete buckled and tumbled inwards beneath the massive weight of the Dinobot. Scalding, radioactive water gushed forth.


	8. Chapter 8

Optimus Prime launched forward with a powerful thrust from his legs, and managed to land a hit to Megatron, knocking him back. They grappled for a moment before Megatron took the advantage, twisting and lifting Prime. He slammed him to the ground, then fired a shot directly at Optimus’ chest from his fusion cannon. 

Prime had hit the ground rolling, but the heat from the blast scorched across his back. Seekers streaked overhead, so low that the rumbling of jet engines sent vibrations through the ground, and the Prime thought he caught sight of white and red on one of them. 

Megatron was ranting at his Second again, and it gave Optimus the chance to rise to his feet. He fired, catching Megatron in the shoulder when he didn’t get out of the way quite fast enough. In the distance, Prime could hear Grimlock roaring, and wished yet again that the Dinobot would have listened to orders. Megatron dove at Prime, and they both rolled across the ruined meadow trading violent punches.

~ | ~

“Ratchet!” Tracks shouted above the noise. “Grimlock! The tower! Look!” He pointed at the facility, and they both watched as the Dinobot flailed helplessly and crashed into the water tower.

“Hurry!” Ratchet dragged a stunned Tracks up by his injured arm, and ran straight into the quickly flooding area. Tracks followed as fast as he could, trying to avoid the humans that were running in terror, screaming, and doing all they could to avoid the Autobots, who were trying to help them as much as flee the boiling, poisonous water. Tracks followed Ratchet’s example and simply snatched up those he could save, holding them well above the crashing waters.

“Ouch!” Tracks cried. “It’s hot!”

“You’re fragging kidding! I’da never guessed!” shouted Ratchet sarcastically as he traipsed back with five humans clinging to his hands. “Come on. We need to get them as far away from this as we can.”

~ | ~

Sunstreaker took aim as the seekers returned for another pass. Others dove for cover, but he held steady, and felt as Sideswipe sidled up next to him, a long black gun barrel lining up parallel to his own.

“Move. Move. _Move_ ,” Sunstreaker growled beneath his breath, trying to sight in on Thundercracker.

_Wanna try a little jet judo?_ Sideswipe asked with a manic grin on his face.

_Just bring him down._

Blaster fire tore toward them, and they were surprised to hear one of the jets giggling. The twins fired, but the seekers scattered, a sonic boom rending the air and blowing them backward to crash against the ground.

“Weeeee!” Skywarp shouted, and giggled even harder. “Do it again, TC!”

Starscream was amused with his mate, and was more than willing to grant his wish to make another pass. He rounded as the stats from the other trine came in.

“Coolant tank rupture. Collection incomplete,” Ramjet said. “Orders?”

“Standby.” Starscream switched frequencies. “Megatron, that oaf Dinobot destroyed one of the water towers. It will be impossible to gather any more energy now.”

There was a moment before Megatron responded. “Destroy the Autobots! Assist Devastator.”

Starscream switched back to Ramjet, for once not arguing with Megatron’s decision. “Rescue Devastator. Apparently he’s having trouble,” he said snidely.

“Acknowledged.”

~ | ~

Bluestreak fired again at Devastator. “Every shot I make just bounces right off his blasted armor!”

“Try to find a weak spot,” Prowl said calmly. He’d moved back up beside the sniper as Ratchet brought the humans up, optics constantly moving. Over the comm he said, “Ironhide, just what are you and the twins doing?”

“Jets’r crazy! They keep comin’ back at us, an’ they’re flyin’ like they know how.”

Bluestreak giggled at that. The seekers were flyers after all, of course they’d know how to fly. He raised his rifle up again. It was time to bring the big baddie down. “Maybe I can get one through the joints?” he asked rhetorically. Sighting carefully along his weapon, and offering a quick prayer to any deity willing to listen, he relaxed and squeezed the trigger.

The bolt flew true, but Devastator twisted, bringing his hand down to smash against the ground again and the bullet bounced harmlessly off impenetrable armor.

Bluestreak focused, relaxing into the long rifle, and re-sighting his aim. He braced forward the tiniest bit, and squeezed the trigger again. 

The laser bolt launched, little bolts of electricity dancing over the surface, the land flying by below unheeded. On target, with the precision only a true expert could manage, the bolt slipped between upper thigh armor and hip plating, ripping through wires and cables before finally impacting a solid piece of metal and dispersing its energy. Tiny jags of lightening arced out shorting systems and causing pain.

Bluestreak jumped up whooping as he and Prowl watched Devastator fall apart into the six Constructicons.

Howls of pain echoed across the battlefield, and the ground trembled as the Constructicons landed heavily. Mixmaster and Longhaul had taken damage, and were struggling to pick themselves up as the rest of their gestalt fired randomly into the Autobots who were pushing in closer.

~ | ~

_Creator!_ Ravage’s scream was one of true terror, and Soundwave was moving before he realized it. He reached down, snatching both his injured creations from the water. Frenzy was blessedly unconscious, but Ravage whined in obvious pain, and though he tried to block it, Soundwave was only too aware of the agony Ravage was in.

_Rumble!_ Soundwave called.

_I have him,_ Buzzsaw replied in a strained voice. _He is uninjured, but unconscious._

Soundwave looked around him. The scalding water was an irritation to his feet, but nothing more. The Dinobot laid offline from the mental attack where he’d fallen. There had been organic screams. Alarms blared in near painful volume, and he looked back at his hands where he gently cradled his damaged creations, wanting to destroy the foolish Autobot, but his Cassetticons must come first.

“Mission: Failure,” he relayed to Megatron. “Cassetticons damaged. Returning to base.” He was already in the air as he spoke, closing quickly on Buzzsaw who carefully clutched Rumble in his talons.

~ | ~

Megatron fell back as Prime’s fist landed heavily on his jaw. Soundwave was fleeing, Devastator was down, and his Second in Command was a loose cannon! He threw himself back at the Autobot leader, fists pounding and a snarl of rage escaping his vocalizer. “Retreat!” he ordered. “Retreat!” 

Prime fell back under the vicious onslaught, forced into a purely defensive stance.

“I’ll destroy your thieving spark yet, Prime!” Megatron fired again, then launched into the air. “Retreat!” He flew quickly out of Prime’s range before he could recover.

The missed blast had only knocked Prime off his feet, but the concussion and his own awkward twist to save himself had landed him in a graceless heap. He watched as the Decepticons fled.

~ | ~

“Retreat!” Megatron roared for the third time. However, Starscream was already committed to the run, and was as bound and determined as his mates to destroy Thundercracker’s attackers. _My mate!_ he thought possessively, and felt the answering confirmation from his bonded. He was in the lead this pass and fired everything he had at the three Autobots, cluster bombs sending chunks of earth flying and Autobots scattering. Skywarp was directly behind him with Thundercracker bringing up the rear. They split in opposite directions, as Thundercracker flew in low. He pumped fuel into his afterburners, accelerating forward just as he reached the three target mechs, and a sonic boom rent the air, blowing them off their feet.

“Starscream!” Megatron shouted over the comm. “I ordered you to retreat!”

Starscream ignored him, the Autobots were down and he was _going_ to take them out.

_Roll right!_ Thundercracker’s command was obeyed before he’d completed it, and an energy bolt flew past Starscream’s right wing as he inverted out of its path. An image of a grey, door-winged Autobot with a sniper rifle flashed through his mind.

_Let’s go! Megatron’s called the retreat. He’s gonna be mad,_ Skywarp said, and flew after the rest of their forces. Thundercracker gained altitude, but hung back waiting. No matter what, they were still wingmates. He wouldn’t leave Starscream’s side. 

_No!_ Starscream shouted, a dizzying amount of mutinous and bloodthirsty thoughts racing through his processor as he sent the last of his cluster bombs sidewinding toward his chosen adversary.

_Come on, Sweetling. We can scrap them next time. Let them lick their wounds for now._

Starscream hesitated before finally giving in with a frustrated growl. Though when he looked back a sense of cruel joy swelled in him. They had most certainly damaged those Autobots. Next time, he’d slag them for sure.

~ | ~

Optimus Prime rolled to his feet with a groan, and continued to watch as the enemy army disappeared into the distance. A small cheer went up from his troops, and he grinned despite the twinge of pain that shot across his back, then walked to where the Autobots were gathering.

“That was great, Hound!” Bumblebee chortled as others added their compliments for the green mech in a joyous cacophony. Bumblebee giggled more. “Devastator never had a chance against us! Not with so many hologram Autobots to squish!”

Jazz bounced up to Bluestreak and threw his arms exuberantly around his mech’s shoulders in a playful, sideways hug. “Kick ass shot by Blue!” he said, making Bluestreak giggle and bounced in time with the spy.

Prime smiled and dropped a hand fondly to Bumblebee’s head before looking over his troops. “You all did well.” He looked over to where Ratchet was currently blustering at the twins and Ironhide, and Wheeljack was corralling the rescued humans together.

“’Hide!” Wheeljack called. “Can you help us out here?”

Ironhide’s gears ground a bit as he attempted transformation and failed.

“I swear to all I hold holy and dear, Ironhide, I will weld your sorry aft to the ground if you don’t stop the tough act and _sit down_!” Ratchet cast a glare back at Wheeljack. “Pick someone not injured or you’re next!”

Wheeljack held up his hands in surrender.

“I’ll help,” Hound volunteered, and walked over.

“Me too!” Bumblebee dashed over, and transformed.

“Gonna take these people to a hospital, Prime,” Wheeljack yelled before transforming and leading the small caravan away.

Optimus surveyed the damage, trusting his officers to gather everyone for the return trip. He saw the Dinobots by the ruptured coolant tower, a billow of steam rising ominously from the now shut down nuclear reactors. Grimlock was unconscious, and the others struggled between themselves to lift the heavy mech. Optimus sighed as he took in the damage. Human emergency authorities were just beginning to arrive as he transformed.

“Put Grimlock in the trailer,” Prime ordered. “Time to head home, Autobots,” he said through the comm, hoping he didn’t sound as tired and careworn as he felt.

~ | ~

Soundwave was never before so envious of the seekers. They flew quickly by, looping back and chattering to each other over their own channel, or even aloud and laughing, while he was forced to strain himself to go even half of the seeker's cruise speed. In his hands, Ravage fought to suppress a shudder, failed and growled in frustration and pain. Frenzy suddenly jerked awake, a shriek of pain startling the nearby Decepticons, and causing sudden silence within the ranks.

Thundercracker slowed and carefully pulled along side the telepath. “Put them in,” he said, and slid the cockpit canopy back. He wavered in the air a moment before adjusting to compensate, wind rushing into the cockpit making him feel oddly exposed. Soundwave looked over, and Thundercracker just knew he was getting a weird look. Hoping he was listening, Thundercracker thought, _I can fly much faster than you. Put them in, transform, and I’ll have you all back to base before you can say, ‘Go faster.’_

_What are you doing?_ Starscream asked, though he was careful to keep his mental barriers in place.

Thundercracker blocked out all but his bondmates. _We owe him, and his creations are hurt._

_We don’t owe him slag!_ was the angry response.

Thundercracker remained beside the telepath, and waited for him to decide, though what he could be debating, Thundercracker didn’t know, and he snarled in response to Starscream, _**I** owe him! Without his help the drug would still exist at the very least. It’s possible I would still be locked up!_ He felt as Starscream acquiesced, and refocused on Soundwave.

“Medical assistance required,” Soundwave intoned.

Skywarp transformed, and drifted near. _What’s up?_

“Sky. Go grab Hook and get him to base,” Thundercracker ordered.

“He doesn’t shrink down the way Soundwave does though,” Skywarp said in confusion.

Starscream drifted over, and transformed as well. “Then teleport, Warp!” he said in exasperation. “How does he manage to forget that until it’s prank time?” He directed his question at Thundercracker, but everyone within range laughed. Skywarp glowered before flipping smoothly back to jet form and racing away to the Constructicons, letting his wake wash over the others.

Starscream frowned as Soundwave rolled his shoulder toward the air wash in an effort to protect his cassettes. “Get them to base,” he said to Thundercracker, then heard a growl and glanced over to see Megatron glaring hard at his mate and the telepath. 

Decision finally made, Soundwave carefully laid Ravage and a whimpering Frenzy in Thundercracker’s cockpit, the maneuver even more delicate considering the jet had to maintain a steady speed just to stay aloft.

Starscream slipped under Thundercracker and held out his hands for Soundwave to land in. When the telepath paused, he said, “I won’t drop you.” Then added with a cheeky grin, “Promise.” He kept one optic surreptitiously on Megatron as he carefully reached for Soundwave and placed the tape deck inside his mate’s cockpit. _See you at home,_ he said and drifted back out of Thundercracker’s way.

Thundercracker slowly put on speed so as not to jostle his passengers, and Starscream cast one more glance at his leader only to see he was the target of a heated glare this time. With an arched optic ridge, he transformed, dove towards Buzzsaw, and swept him and his brother into his own opened cockpit. _Soundwave had just better appreciate all this,_ he thought, and kicked in his afterburners to catch up to his bondmate.


	9. Chapter 9

The medbay doors split apart, and Hook stormed in, followed closely by Soundwave. The Constructicon quickly gathered up his most delicate tools while radioing orders to his fellow gestalt members to prepare them for the onslaught of injured sure to follow them to medical when they arrived. 

Soundwave moved back to an out of the way repair berth, and set Ravage on the far side of the surface so that Hook would have full access to his less injured creation. Both of them were now conscious, Ravage forcibly suppressing his reaction to the pain, yet unable to keep from panting the cool air as his internal systems fought to stabilize. Frenzy whimpered in agony, crying out as Soundwave laid him on the table.

“Why aren’t these two in stasis lock?” Hook asked in his usual impersonal, impatient drawl as he began to examine Ravage’s injuries. 

“Stasis locking systems inoperable,” Soundwave replied. His voice still sounded the same as always, but it was slightly slower and even more restrained than usual. “Locking chip irreparably damaged by irradiation.” 

“Irradiation?” Hook asked seriously, pausing slightly in his scan of Ravage. “How widespread is contami-?” 

“No additional contaminants arriving,” Soundwave interrupted, anticipating the questions and not wanting any time wasted on unnecessary quarantine preparations. “Irradiation present only in Ravage and Frenzy. Level of isotopes not high enough to penetrate external systems.” 

Hook nodded, the slightest smirk curling across his lips in excitement. In a system as delicate as the micro-mechs’, internal damage with the added complications of irradiation made a complex list of injuries, and it was obvious that the conceited perfectionist saw it as a worthy challenge. Soundwave didn’t have time to waste on him, silently rationalizing that the Constructicon would be more diligent and thorough with his repairs in that state of mind. 

_Your injuries are too severe, I cannot sedate you,_ Soundwave told Frenzy, focusing all of his attention on his half-cognizant creation. _You must focus and remain still._ A whimper was Soundwave’s only response, and he carefully set to work on capping the shorting wires and putting temporary patches on the bleeding energon lines. Every scream of agony from his creation put another tear in his own spark. He was only too aware of Buzzsaw and Laserbeak, now perched on a shelf, intently watching with barely concealed worry.

And Rumble. The little blue mech had commandeered the next table over, brandishing his blaster at Scavenger when he arrived, and threatening to offline the Constructicon if he didn’t _move_ so he could see his brother. More and more Decepticons began to filter into the medbay, all broken and battered from the fight.

Ravage hissed in pain, and Hook swore. Frenzy jerked involuntarily, causing Soundwave to tug a line, causing Frenzy to shriek and all other activity in the medbay to freeze. Everyone was suddenly reminded of how much worse their own injuries could have been.

Another involuntary jerk from Frenzy made Soundwave’s frame shiver with barely contained frustration. His creation’s injuries were even more severe than he first theorized, and the diminutive size of the micro-mech’s delicate internals made the coming procedures even more dangerous and difficult. In desperation, Soundwave forced his way into Frenzy’s mind and took it over. He commanded him into recharge, and blocked out his other creations.

Rumble cried out, babbling, pleading to frantically to be understood. Laserbeak swooped over and folded his wings about his elder brother in an effort to keep him from getting in the way in his distress.

~ | ~

Megatron stormed into the storage room, and those closest to the door sidled out, unwilling to stick around lest they become a target as well. He stomped straight up to his Second in Command, who was coolly entering their new stock on a datapad as his bondmates and subordinates stacked and counted the acquired cubes of energon.

“Just what do you think you were doing?” Megatron raged.

Starscream fixed him with a blank stare. “Inventory.”

Megatron snarled. The other seekers had stopped their task, and Thundercracker slipped just a little closer to his bondmate. “I gave you a direct order and you stupidly ignored it!”

“Stupid orders are meant to be ignored.”

Megatron’s left arm snapped out and knocked the datapad from Starscream’s grasp. “I should have your wings welded together and use them to decorate my wall,” he growled, towering over the seeker. Starscream opened his mouth to protest, but Megatron cut him off. “I ordered you to gather energon, not toy with the Autobots.”

“We weren’t toying with them!” Starscream cried indignantly. “We kept their three strongest fighters busy, and Devastator still couldn’t manage to break the line! If it weren’t for me-”

Megatron’s hand shot back out, and Starscream bounced off the wall behind him. “If it weren’t for you, we would have gotten the energon we needed! You should have stayed at your post and defended it!”

“But Megatron!” Starscream whined, cowering against the wall, and Megatron’s sneer spread out into a predatory grin at his second’s sudden cowering. Misfire fidgeted, and felt a hand grip his shoulder tightly. He looked up into Skywarp’s pale face. The elder seeker stood tense with a worried look stamped on his features.

_Star. Don’t,_ Thundercracker whispered in his bonded’s mind.

Starscream shook himself, and stood straighter, glaring up at Megatron. “Your lack of caution practically led the Autobots straight to us! If you had listened to _my_ suggestions this wouldn't have happened!” 

“If I had listened to your suggestions, today would have been a total loss instead of just a setback, Starscream!”

A malicious look washed over Starscream’s face. “What's the matter, _Lord_ Megatron?” he asked, voice mockingly sweet. “You’ve been so tense lately. You’re getting even more careless! Upset that your pet will no longer stay on its leash? Is he not keeping you warm at night anymore?”

Megatron’s reaction was instantaneous, and Starscream landed hard, but was laughing from the heavy punch he’d received.

Megatron wanted to shoot the hateful little seeker, but knew that laser bolts and energon did not mix. He spun and left. He could find a better way to punish the little fool for his insolence later.

No one moved until the pounding echo of Megatron’s footsteps faded in the distance. Thundercracker rushed to his still giggling mate, worry etched in lines on his face. Skywarp stood over the both of them looking furious.

Misfire knew they had to be communicating silently by the way they looked between each other. Leaving his three superiors to their business, he slid back over to the stacks of energon where his own trine mates had diligently remained out of the crossfire. “I think the Commander’s gotten braver since bonding.”

Thrust snorted. “Too bad it hasn’t made him any smarter.”

~ | ~

“Come on, Swindle. What are we all here for?” a voice called from the crowd gathered in the rec room. They were all moving and shifting around too much for him to see who though.

“We’re here to discuss the betting pool of course,” Swindle answered.

“Betting pool?” Slugslinger parroted.

“Yup.” Swindle looked around, met by nothing more than bored or blank stares. “Oh come on! We all have our own little side bets going. I figured we should organize them. I’ve also managed to get some tech support to make this all fair and more entertaining. This very room is wired to receive audio input from dozens of locations all over the ship.”

“Soundwave will find out.” Reflector chimed, a sadistic grin spread across all three faces as though anticipating Swindle’s eventual punishment.

“Our esteemed and talented communications officer will _not_ be discovering this little infraction. I can guarantee that,” Swindle said smoothly. 

“Guarantee how?” Ramjet returned with a frown. 

Swindle’s lips twitched slightly in a half-formed smirk. “That’s strictly on a need to know basis. Business, you know.” 

“And what good is that going to do us?” Brawl called out, voice booming.

Swindle let a slow smile curl his lips up, and gave a slight wink to his gestalt mate. “Why, I’m glad you asked! You see, I had a few topics to submit. Make this whole thing more of a running game rather than just simple bets. Let’s face it.” He walked purposefully to the front of the crowd, heads turning as he went past. “It gets damn boring down here between raids.”

He paused to allow the murmuring of agreement to swell and begin to fade. Swindle knew how to work a crowd. He smiled again, carefully keeping his greedy glee from showing through fully. “Ok. So the main topic everyone seems to be interested in lately; where, oh where, will Commander Starscream live up to his apparently appropriately assigned designation at next? Is it me, or do those seekers play ‘zap the mech’ anywhere and anytime?” His smile grew slightly wider, both at his own implications, as well as the undivided interest he suddenly had from onlookers.

Again there was a rumble of agreement, some crude jokes aimed at all three, and some more cruel statements directed at the Second in Command alone.

“Not very becoming behavior for our _esteemed_ superior, is it?” Another louder rumble of agreement followed, as well a few jeers and snickers. “Then there’s the ever favorite, which I believe a few of you witnessed this morning. How many betrayals does it take to get to the insane center of a Decepticon commander? Otherwise known as: When will Megatron just out and blast a hole through Starscream’s traitorous spark?” He grinned with satisfaction as laughter rippled through the room, slightly louder from those who understood the human joke.

“I’ve had a bet running on that since we first arrived on this dirt ball!” someone commented wryly. 

“Since Earth?” another barked with contempt. “I’ve had bets down on that eighty-five vorns before we left _Cybertron_!” 

“Hey! What about the old stand by? Live or Die?” someone in the back shouted.

“Yeah! I bet Frenzy’s scrap!”

“Bet Soundwave will pull him through!”

“Bet Megatron gets lonely and pulls Soundwave away for a ‘break’!”

Raucous laughter roared forth. Oh yes. This betting pool was going to make him so many creds. Of course, he had to make sure that things didn’t’ get out of hand, first. 

“Gentlemechs!” Swindle called loudly, the crowd dying down reluctantly, and a few snickers lingering from the all around good humor that the gathering had already generated. “Let’s get rules in place so that we can make sure that there is fairness to all!” The smile on his face turned downright oily. “Let’s make a deal.”

~ | ~

Hours. They’d been working on his creations for hours. The medbay had mostly cleared, as most injuries had been superficial. The Constructicons all stayed, cleaning up and bringing Soundwave and Hook whatever they requested. Rumble had quieted, and Laserbeak had taken his sibling back up to the high shelf where they sat as silent spectators. Rumble was currently huddled between both eagles, looking miserable and exhausted. Buzzsaw and Laserbeak were stoic, watching the proceedings without comment. Soundwave was aware of Ravage improving, his pain greatly reduced, however not gone. The main problem, unfortunately, was one he shared with Frenzy, and wasn’t going to be easily fixed.

“New components necessary: energon processor, energon purifier, energy regulation sensor, locki-”

“Yes, a stasis locking chip. New ventilation filtration membranes. And a million other parts and pieces that I do not have,” Hook replied tartly, his expression somewhere between a frown and a sneer as he set his tool down beside the still Ravage. “I hope that you have all of this equipment, because I stock standard sized emergency parts, not these delicate micro-components!” 

Soundwave was silent for a moment, as though the lack of replacement components hadn’t occurred to him before. “Components were not relocated to the Nemesis before departure from Cybertron.” 

Hook huffed in indignation, frustrated that he was forced to stop working before a perfectly completed project. “I’m not sure we can get any components similar to this on Earth.” He spat the planet’s name like a curse. “These slaggers don’t know how lucky they have been. Most injuries have been superficial or internals have been intact enough to be rebuilt without the need of too many extra parts. We’re looking at an extensive rebuild now. These components aren’t just damaged, they’re scrap.” 

“Scrapped?” Scavenger chimed in quietly from where he was lingering near the berth, patiently awaiting instruction and watching the proceedings with curiosity. “Totally? The exterior damage isn’t that great…”

Hook turned a look toward his gestalt mate as his question trailed off in uncertainty. The response, when it came, was much more tolerant than one would usually expect from the notoriously impatient Constructicon. “The cooling water from that facility was contaminated with radioactive isotopes.” Soundwave was silent, his spark sinking further as the Constructicon methodically began to go through what he already suspected. “It wasn’t much, but it was plenty for these undersized systems, given that there were already external injuries.” 

Hook swept a hand out, gesturing dismissively towards both of the Cassetticons on the repair berth. “That water leaked through, into vital systems. More importantly, it managed to burn its way through their energon processors and straight into their fuel system. They’re completely contaminated. Not only that, their entire energon processing systems have been compromised or shorted out. We won’t be able to perform the replacement surgery, even if we acquire the parts, until after their energon supplies are completely replaced. To avoid any further system contamination while we make the swap out, it will need to be pure energon.” 

Soundwave was still. He had, following orders, watched Starscream dismantle the energon purifier just a few days ago. Most of the energon that was gathered on Earth was potent and high output, there was no doubt about that, but it also contained many impurities and contaminants that their internal systems filtered and purified from the substance before actually utilizing it. 

Also, unlike the back-up exhaust systems in jet or car alt mode Decepticons, Soundwave’s creations did not have separate exhausts. Where they all could ‘inhale’ and ‘exhale’ to cool their internals through their mouths and noses, and that type of respiration was the main system in all Cybertronians, his creations had _only_ that system. Under normal everyday circumstances it was all that was needed, their smaller forms simply did not put out the same amount of heat that larger mechs did. 

Another problem Hook had discovered in Ravage, and they confirmed was shared by Frenzy, was the damage to both mechs’ bio circuits. When energon was consumed, the bio circuits sent impulses to the mechanism that would temporarily block off the path that lead to their coolant system so that energon would not flood it. The same could be said for the connection leading to their energon converter, the components kept inhaled, airborne particles from contaminating their fuel systems. Now with the bio circuits damaged they couldn’t switch back to energon consumption at all, even if they still had working internal purifiers to clean the naturally occurring contaminants. But low on reserves already from the damage, and those reserves tainted, coupled with no purified energon at hand, the needed surgery wasn’t even an option until their fuel systems were completely flushed and their energon replaced.

“Energon purification reassembly required,” Soundwave interrupted Hook, who had still been rambling off injury lists and complications as Soundwave’s mind had wandered. 

Hook sent a rather withering look in Soundwave’s direction, “That would take too long.” 

“Other options?” 

Both were quiet for a few moments, mulling over the possibilities. Soundwave didn’t move, but his optics shifted down to his creations. Ravage was very still, watching and listening quietly, though pain still wracked his systems and made his jaw shiver with tension. Frenzy, on the other hand, was unconscious, mouth wide open to take in as much cooling air as possible. He would not survive without a fast solution. 

“An energon filtration system,” Scavenger burst out suddenly. 

“Conclusion already known.” Soundwave ground his teeth together firmly, not wanting to voice anymore of his own irritation. The Constructicon withered slightly under his stare, and he took a slight bit of cruel pleasure in the other’s fear. 

“Go on,” Hook said with that same uncharacteristic tolerance, sparing a heated glare for Soundwave. 

Scavenger was quiet for a few moments, looking uncomfortably around at his fellow gestalt mates before replying. “I have all the parts for a standard sized energon processor and filtration system.” 

Soundwave watched, intrigued by the level of tolerance, patience, and support the Constructicons showed Scavenger.

When no one told him off, Scavenger grinned nervously and continued. “We could use a full sized system hooked up as a sort of external purifier and temporary artificial circulation center. It would just have to be fitted through one of the external regulation pumps to accommodate the line size difference as well as set the pressure low enough to not overwhelm their internals?” He paused for a moment questioningly. “It would be easy to route the power through the repair berth to avoid any unnecessary energy drains.”

The monitor alarm suddenly blared to life, interrupting their conversation as Soundwave moved quickly to check over his creation. Rumble jolted from his exhausted recharge with a startled cry that was immediately followed by a bubbling, static-filled scream from Frenzy. Soundwave actually shouted Hook’s name. The Constructicon handed his tool to Scrapper and rushed over.

“Go!” Hook told Scavenger. He turned his gaze briefly to the others. “Help him, and hurry!” He didn’t watch as they rushed away.

They were losing Frenzy. Rumble jumped up and down, clutching Laserbeak’s wing, screaming his twin’s name, and battering against the mental wall Soundwave had erected.

“Buzzsaw, retrieve my toolbox. Laserbeak, remove Rumble to quarters.” The eagles obeyed instantly, Laserbeak having more trouble as the frantic Rumble fought to stay, but he was too much of a distraction.

“You have tools?” Hook snarled. “And why haven’t we been using those?”

“Medbay tools were sufficient.” Soundwave had built their bodies himself. He knew how to correct the pump failure, but now he needed smaller and more delicate tools than were found in the medbay. There was also the possibility of him having a few scrap pieces of equipment that could be fixed and used. Hook finalized the connections to an external pump regulator, and the telepath quickly adjusted the pressure settings to accommodate Frenzy’s smaller systems.

Buzzsaw returned, landing so quickly his claws skid for purchase for a moment before managing to catch on one of the external seams. _Creator_ , he called mentally in his steady, even tones.

Soundwave took the toolbox from his beak, silently thankful for the balm of Buzzsaw’s calm mind. Soundwave sent him to assist Laserbeak with Rumble as he spread out the tools quickly between himself and Hook. 

Scavenger entered with the other Constructicons, all carrying various bits and parts. Hook left to assist then, and the telepath focused on gently removing the seized pump from Frenzy’s fluid filled torso. It would be salvageable at least.

Soundwave traded the medbay standard tool for one of his own and set to work, allowing his mind to separate between tasks. The Constructicons were quickly setting up the rigged purifier, and with his personal, smaller instruments, Soundwave was able to efficiently correct the problems within the tiny fuel pump. He would clean it out thoroughly, and then they’d be able to use it once Frenzy’s systems were cleared.

The thing that weighed most on Soundwave’s mind was getting to Cybertron. Who would go? He certainly couldn’t leave his creations. Would Megatron even allow a trip across the spacebridge? Of course he would, Soundwave tried to reassure himself. Megatron was many things, but he was no fool, and would not sacrifice the lives of his best spy and coding specialist over their personal… situation.

A small, cheerful whoop escaped Scavenger as the test to the filter succeeded some time later.

“Ravage first,” Hook said, moving into place, adding directly to Soundwave. “You’ll probably want to manage the pressure.” It was a simple procedure, and they all watched the readouts and tubing as off-colored energon was pumped in and slightly clearer energon was circulated back to the small black mech.

Soundwave moved over to Frenzy. His transfer was going to be more dangerous. Not only was his body more damaged, but he would need to be removed from the external pump before they could connect him to the purifier. Hook readied the tubing, and in a fast switch, Soundwave disconnected his creation from one life support system and connected the other. Scrapper adjusted the pressure to compensate for having two small bodies now connected, and they all waited.

No alarms sounded, no systems failed. Behind his visor, Soundwave’s optics closed for a moment. He relaxed his mental hold on Frenzy and watched as his small creation shivered. Optics flickered briefly behind the youngling’s visor before he dropped into a natural recharge.

Hook dismissed his gestalt. “I’d recommend some rest, and then find out the soonest we can get to Cybertron for your components. We’ll be able to add new energon to the system once their current supply has been cleansed.”

Soundwave nodded, then listened as Hook followed his teammates out.

Ravage opened his optics and looked up at his creator. Soundwave began checking over his repairs and assessing for himself all that would still be needed.

_Will he be alright?_ Ravage asked softly, none of the sarcastic condescension normally heard in his voice detectable as he studied Frenzy.

_There is still much to be repaired. In both of you._ Realizing how hopeless that sounded, Soundwave continued, _He is stable for now and should remain so. Once we obtain enough purified energon, I will complete the repairs and you both will be fine._

Ravage nodded in understanding. Soundwave stroked him lightly, having satisfied himself the repairs were good enough for the moment. If his hands shook slightly, Ravage didn’t comment upon it.

~ | ~

Ironhide’s injuries were the worst. That was a surprisingly good thing, since he was only suffering from a single blaster wound and some concussive damage from Thundercracker’s sonic booms. Even so, the damage only extended to a handful of his systems, namely his transformation cogs and sequencers, from the blaster, and then equilibrium, sensors, communications, plus a few others from the sonic attacks. Ratchet was currently grumbling at him to hold still, threats audible even from the other side of the medbay. 

Grimlock was being worked on by both Perceptor and the returned Wheeljack. He was conscious, and Prime stood silently by as they finished running a system’s check on the large Dinobot and fixing some circuitry damage to his side.

“You’re quite lucky, Grimlock. Other’s have not gotten off so lightly from one of Soundwave’s attacks,” Perceptor was saying.

Sideswipe sat next to his twin, childishly swinging his legs and awaiting their turn. Those sonic booms had been pretty impressive. His navigation systems were fried. Other minor dings and hiccups existed that self-repair would undoubtedly take care of before Ratchet even got to him. Sunstreaker wasn’t any worse off now that he had his equilibrium back, too. Of course, one wouldn’t know that if they could hear the constant curses being strung together within their minds.

_Look! Sides! Look at this one! Primus, it’s right down to bare metal!_

Sideswipe ignored his brother’s whining and watched Optimus, whose optics had narrowed a bit as Grimlock boasted on about how tough he was in answer to Perceptor’s statement. Prime was not given to shouting or publicly dressing down his men, therefore, Sideswipe knew, it was his proximity alone that allowed him to overhear Prime after Wheeljack moved over to check on Tracks’ field-dressed arm, and Perceptor answered Ratchet’s call for a second set of hands.

“Winning a battle is about tactics and team work. Neither of which you had least regard for today.”

Grimlock silenced immediately at the quiet reprimand.

“You are strong and sturdy, but there are others with far more expertise in battle tactics than you. A wise mech knows when to listen to himself and when to listen to others.” 

“Wise mech know diversion when one present itself,” Grimlock sneered, quickly becoming belligerent as he switched to treating the reprimand as a verbal challenge. “Optimus Prime would have us Dinobots waste time attacking green giant Decepticon thug while Megatron get what he want.” 

“That may be true,” Prime replied, somehow exuding both a practiced and restrained patience as well as a thin underlayer of frustration. “But we cannot function as a threat against the Decepticons if we do not have a unified front. Damage to nuclear facilities such as the one we fought at today is dangerous to this planet and its inhabitants.” 

“What Grimlock care of silly details? Me Grimlock dedicated to destruction of Decepticons, and Optimus Prime thankful for help of more powerful Dinobots.” 

Prime stood deathly still for a moment, regarding Grimlock with a penetrating gaze. His voice grew lower then, and Sideswipe had to increase power to his audials to be able to hear what was said next.

“Our purpose, as Autobots, is not to destroy, but to protect. I stand by this credo with every pulse of my spark, and will not allow that which endangers the wellbeing of any innocent life. Today, your uninformed actions put innocent life in peril and even you were not strong enough to come out of it unscathed because you did not follow your orders.” 

Grimlock was silent after that, mollified in the face of Prime’s conviction. 

_He’s right,_ Sideswipe said.

Optimus Prime turned then when Ratchet called him. Ironhide was leaving the medbay, probably sent to his quarters for rest, though morning was just dawning. Their leader cast one more look back at Grimlock, then turned and allowed the medic to look at the burn across his back.

There was a pause in the swearing as Sunstreaker looked up at him. _What?_

_Prime. He’s right. Teamwork and tactics. Pits, bro, we got our afts handed to us today, and it could have been a lot worse._

_No one handed me my aft! They scuffed it, for which they will die a thousand painful deaths, but-_

_Oh shut up,_ Sideswipe said wearily, and tipped sideways until his head landed on Sunstreaker’s shoulder. He was surprisingly obeyed. _The seekers were using some serious teamwork and better tactics than usual._

_You said you thought Thundercracker was bonded, right?_

_Yeah,_ Sideswipe answered and sat back up.

_Well? Which one? Which of his trine could it be?_

Sideswipe shook his head. _Doesn’t matter. What matters is we need to think out some new stuff to blast them outta the sky that matches up to flying like that. Starscream’s **never** managed to dodge me before._

“It does matter,” Sunstreaker said quietly, turning to him more fully. _If he’s bonded then we can use that against him._

Sideswipe’s optics went wide. _That’s wrong, Sunny._

_It’s a war, Sides._


	10. Chapter 10

It was impossible for Soundwave to recharge that night. Besides his constant fear that he’d wake to the sound of alarms, Rumble woke repeatedly. Terrified shouts echoed out telepathically and jerked his four brothers from their recharge so often Soundwave had finally sighed in frustration and took over the youngling’s mind, forcing him into deep unconsciousness. He did not like doing that to his creations. Not only did it take a fair amount of concentration to manage -as he did not spark weak-minded beings- but it seemed almost a violation of their trust, regardless of the need or his good intentions in doing so.

It was nearly as difficult to leave his injured creations and seek out his leader in the early hours of the following morning. He’d known approaching Megatron that night, after their failure and his own early retreat, would be a poor decision. He’d also been reluctant to leave Ravage and Frenzy unattended. True, the Constructicons did share quarters not far from the medbay, but Soundwave had not kept himself and his creations alive as long as he had by putting faith in others.

He’d accepted Hook’s lecture, given with all the condescension and annoyance only the Constructicon seemed capable of, on his own lack of rest as well as the energon cube the other pressed on him, in silence. Hook did have a logical argument, even if only snarled at the telepath because he didn’t want even more unconscious Decepticons taking up space in his immaculate work area. If Soundwave drained himself into forced recharge there would be no one with his expertise to handle an emergency if one did occur. He had not given in to the demands the night before, but now retracted his mask and quickly consumed the energon as he marched swiftly through the empty halls to Megatron’s quarters.

It took Soundwave a moment to name the emotion he felt as it was so very uncommon and uncharacteristic in him. Self-doubt. He could hardly remember a time when he’d felt this way. Surely, he’d been extremely young. Even during the treasonous act of destroying the drug, he hadn’t felt so unsure of himself. Nervous yes, but determined to succeed, confident that he could so long as the others held to their plan. Doubt was not something that Soundwave’s mind entertained often. Where was all that confidence now?

He paused in front of Megatron’s door. He hadn’t been here in orns. Not since handing over the new security protocols and leaving before Megatron could sense his warring emotions. 

Besides his creations, only Megatron had any practice at all in seeing behind the guards and masks that the telepath had in place. They’d been together for so long that even though there had been an almost formal distance between them until recently, they still knew each other very well. He still did not understand what had changed between them to make Megatron change his perception and doubt Soundwave’s loyalties. Not that it mattered now.

He stood, hand half raised to press the notification chime and announce himself, internally debating what the most effective course of action would be. 

Soundwave cycled a sigh, glancing around. He was alone, he knew that. Well, self-doubt, discomfort, and painful unrequited attachments or not, his sparklings needed him to act. Reaching out mentally he felt the other awake and furious on the other side of the door. Though at what, was indistinguishable without risking being sensed by the other. 

Steeling himself and pushing aside the pointless conflict within his own mind, Soundwave pressed the chime, empty energon cube slipping into his subspace and mask sliding quickly back into place.

Soundwave waited so long he considered chiming again, but knew that would only enrage Megatron further. He had but one purpose. Repair his creations. Determination sparked. He would be loathe to do so, but if Megatron would not grant him aid he would simply send Laserbeak and Buzzsaw through the space bridge to gather what he needed. 

True, they would not be as able to carry all he would like to have, but it would be enough to repair Frenzy and Ravage. And once his punishment -whatever it would be- was over, he’d find a way to convince Megatron to allow him to go back and gather more supplies in case this ever happened again. 

For his creations, he’d even act the whore he’d been accused of being if that was what it took.

The door hissed open to reveal a glowering Megatron, whose features schooled quickly to a bored, neutral expression. They stared at each other for a moment before he finally stepped back and motioned Soundwave in.

Wasting no time, Soundwave spoke. “Permission requested: Space bridge travel.”

Megatron stared at him blankly, giving no indication of what he was thinking. Two could play this game. “Why?” he asked.

“Damage to Ravage and Frenzy extensive. Required components located on Cybertron.”

“And you wish for me to grant you permission to go and retrieve your needed spare parts? I think not. Build what you require from the materials available here.” Megatron reached to key open his door, dismissal in every line of his frame.

Soundwave felt his energon run cold, but he would not give up without trying. Disobeying orders was dangerous especially given Megatron’s current mood. It would be better to obtain the permission even if he had to argue, he knew. “Impossible to comply. Materials-”

“Then deactivate them,” Megatron interrupted, tone as icy as his glare.

The telepath reeled back in shock, speaking without the filter for the first time in weeks. “You would let two of your best spies expire because of our petty differences?! What kind of leader does such a thing?”

He snapped his mouth shut and forced his body to remain immobile. Never had he questioned Megatron’s leadership. Never. Not within his own mind and certainly never aloud and directly to the warlord. He had a pounding fear he was about to find out what it felt like to be Starscream. Soundwave refused to cower, however. If he were going to receive a beating, then he would take it silently.

Crimson optics widened in shock almost imperceptibly for only a moment, before narrowing in violent rage at being so questioned. True, he’d only said what he had to be cruel, to watch Soundwave beg. He never would have expected the response he received. “You dare?” he asked in a low growl. Soundwave remained still and Megatron’s fury increased.

Soundwave thought fast. He knew that he had allowed his own shock to back his leader into a corner. Megatron would never back down now. He scrambled for something to say that would allow the furious mech to grant his request and still come out looking the victor. “Apologies, Megatron,” he intoned. “Emotional subroutines overloading logical drives.” He allowed his posture to slump ever so slightly then tightened his stance up as though the lapse had been unintentional. Silently, he hoped it had the desired effect. Making false, emotional pretenses was not something that he had ever stooped to before. 

The glare remained, but a flicker of something else brightened Megatron’s optics. “Indeed they must be for you to speak to me so, Soundwave.” He relaxed his stance slightly. _Petty differences! Indeed!_ He suppressed a growl of outrage. He’d been given an out and needed to take it. It was understandable, and even forgivable, when one considered the rare relationship Soundwave had with his creations. 

Yes, _petty differences_ aside, he could clearly see the logic in granting the request. Ravage alone was worth more as a spy than whole squadrons of Decepticon soldiers were as cannon fodder.

Megatron relaxed further and considered his officer for a moment. He could still punish him slightly for his lapse. “You cannot be spared from the base. Another must be sent.”

Soundwave very nearly did slump, though this time in relief. He had thought that Megatron would require more convincing. He would have begged and pleaded to remain with his injured creations. “Suggested substitution: Thundercracker.” He’d already decided the seeker would be best suited. Level headed and more willing than most to assist, he was also intelligent enough to follow Soundwave’s instructions and retrieve the correct items.

Megatron’s mouth curled up in a vicious smile, and the telepath feared his suggestion would be rejected. “Thundercracker is the perfect choice,” he said slyly, nearly to himself before his optics brightened and focused once again on the telepath. “Arrange the transport with Shockwave and inform Starscream’s dear bondmate of his departure time.” 

“Acknowledged,” Soundwave intoned, a slight amount of relief filtering into his voice despite his efforts to restrain himself. 

“One last thing,” Megatron said evenly, just as Soundwave had turned to leave. “Neither Starscream nor Skywarp may be spared from their duties. I already have a task for them.” 

Soundwave studied his leader for a few moments, appreciative once more of the covers that hid his expression. “Solitary excursions to Stanix have been labeled as unwise by protocol one two four point five seven-”

“I know the protocols,” Megatron interrupted with warning irritation, though the cruel smirk did not fall from his expression. “Misfire can go as support. They should be able to carry everything you will require,” he said dismissively. “Starscream is to report to me directly for mission instructions.” 

Ah. So he had agreed partially because he thought it would upset Starscream. He would have to warn the Second in Command that Megatron was expecting an argument over this. “Understood, Lord Megatron.” 

A thoughtful expression crossed the Megatron’s face briefly. “Take care of the details immediately. I want this mission started no later than the beginning of this planet’s daylight cycle.” 

“Understood.” 

Megatron nodded once with satisfaction before waving the telepath away and turning his back without another glance. 

Soundwave hurried to the Command Center. The sooner he informed Shockwave, the sooner he’d have his creations repaired. He was anxious. Both of his creations remained deep in recharge most of the time, attempting to conserve energy and avoid pain, but he wished to be there should they wake and need him.

~ | ~

Thundercracker groaned at the insistent beep from their door.

“Ignore it. They’ll go away,” murmured Starscream, who refused to move when Thundercracker tried to extricate himself from under his mates, thoughts turning suddenly to the possibility of nullrays and cluster bombs as the chime continued. 

Skywarp was still deeply asleep, and in his barely cognizant state, Thundercracker couldn’t remember how they’d ended up piled the way they were. He lay on his back, but the ceiling was at the wrong angle. No wait. He was. Why was he lying sideways? The memories suddenly returned and with them, a rush of heat. Oh, that’s right. 

Starscream chuckled as a few more pleasant memories caused his buried mate to purr deeply.

The door beeped again. 

“Oh, just let me up.” Thundercracker groaned and shoved Starscream off his chest gently, kicking his legs free of Skywarp’s unconscious frame.

Skywarp lurched awake and jumped up to his knees, looking about frantically. The door beeped again. “I’ll get it!” He teleported to the door, re-emerging from subspace wobbly and looking around confused. “What?”

“You’re lucky you didn’t teleport straight into a bulkhead, Warp,” Starscream said with lazy irritation, still spread out carelessly across their berths. 

“Awake now?” Thundercracker asked him, putting a hand out to steady his mate, and chuckling as he opened the door.

Soundwave stood, posture relaxed despite the repetitive calls it took to bring the seekers to their door. Well, relaxed for Soundwave. “Thundercracker,” he stated by way of announcement rather than greeting. “Standard stellar cycle leave cancelled. Report to space bridge no later than one cycle from present time. Coordinates to be provided.”

“What?!” Starscream snapped as he rolled fluidly onto his feet, no longer willing to ignore the commotion at the door no matter what the hour. “Operational timeframes cannot be changed without going through the proper procedures.”

“Changes dictated necessary by emergency sub-clause two-”

“Four one seven,” Starscream finished with a dismissive snort, pressing his way out into the hallway and crossing his arms as he forced the telepath back by proximity. “I don’t hear a warning call, and the ship is not at high alert, nor have I been notified of any high classification circumstances. So what, then, is the emergency?” 

Soundwave allowed himself to be forced only so far across the hall before standing his ground, watching Starscream nearly quiver with tense aggression, though his face was steadily pointed to a spot just above the seeker’s shoulders, giving the impression of an ignoring stance. It was baiting to the egotistical seeker, he knew, and he found he couldn’t help himself. “Operation Critical. Mission: Obtain required repair components.”

That information was enough to make the seekers realize the personal stake that Soundwave had in the orders he was relaying.

Starscream scoffed slightly, a cruel, crooked smirk spreading across his features before the obviously cutting thing he was about to say was interrupted as Skywarp spoke up. “Where do we need to go?”

Thundercracker looked questioningly at Skywarp for a moment before taking a step forward, sending a cool stare as a response to Starscream’s warning glower. The door swooshed shut behind them. “We’ll accept the mission,” he stated evenly, ignoring the feelings that he could sense from Starscream as he fumed at his mate for taking away his control of the situation. 

_Thunder-_

“Negative,” Soundwave interrupted. “Starscream and Skywarp to remain on Earth for further instruction.” 

“A solo mission?” Skywarp injected curiously, his face poking from behind Thundercracker’s wing in the cramped hall space.

“Negative,” Soundwave stated, voice sounding on the edge of hurried irritation as he looked directly at Thundercracker. “Misfire previously informed of mission objectives. Misfire to provide support.” 

“Misfire?” Starscream snorted in disbelief. 

Skywarp snickered loudly from somewhere behind Thundercracker’s wing. “He couldn’t hit the sun with a heat seeking missile.” 

“What idiot,” Starscream asked heatedly, “proposed this so-called strategy as a good idea?”

“Megatron,” was the steady reply.

An ugly look passed over Starscream’s features, Skywarp stood up slightly straighter, but Thundercracker had already made up his mind. “I accept.” 

Thoughts scattered through the bond, but Thundercracker ignored them. He was entirely too used to his bonded’s ranting. “I’ll go,” he said. When both his mates moved to protest he held up his hand. “It’s not like it’s a big deal. Just a simple recovery run.” He shrugged and turned to the telepath. “Right?”

“Affirmative.”

“Tell me, Soundwave.” Starscream turned challenging optics on the telepath, sneer still firmly affixed. “Your old facilities in Tarn were destroyed during Iacon’s retaliation. Where, exactly, is the objective location?” 

Soundwave remained silent for a moment, and Starscream’s optics narrowed dangerously. “If I recall correctly,” he continued, “your facilities in Kolkular were also destroyed in the early battles. So?” Starscream added impatiently after another moment of silence, motioning for Soundwave to get on with it. 

“Most expedient solution,” Soundwave replied flatly, “Stanix.” 

Starscream’s expression became suddenly closed. “Someone else can go.” 

“Objections of mission details to be directed to Megatron.” 

“Oh, of course!” Starscream said sarcastically, mock hitting his own helmet with one hand. “He’s even generously left me less than a quarter cycle in which to file just such a complaint!” 

“Mission must be completed as directed,” Soundwave stated firmly, his shoulders stiffening with noticeable tension at the stubborn refusal he knew would come. It was the only visible indication, other than his personal visit to relay the orders, that he was being affected by the current circumstances.

Thundercracker stared thoughtfully. 

Starscream didn’t care. “Two is not enough for this caliber of retrieval.” 

“Negative. Personnel assigned: adequate for required task.” 

“There are too many risks involved in traveling to Cybertron with so little support,” Starscream retorted. 

“Concerns not previously expressed,” Soundwave intoned, leaving Starscream momentarily speechless. “Possible cause: Excess emotional investment impairing judgment of command functions.” 

Starscream hissed with fury, wings shaking slightly with tension as the implication sank in. “Sudden mission arrangement _suspect_!” Starscream mocked, his voice rising to an angered screech that contradicted the desired effect entirely. “Possible cause: Overly accessible _interface_ ports.” 

“Objections of mission details to be directed to Megatron,” Soundwave repeated without pause, causing Starscream even further frustration while he attempted to collect himself. 

Thundercracker put a restraining hand on a white wing, hoping to stop any more crass insults before turning back to Soundwave. “What are the mission details?” 

“Exact time remaining,” Soundwave said somewhat pointedly, pulling out a datapad which he offered to Thundercracker directly, “Two point four breems until departure.” 

Thundercracker took the offered datapad, quickly scanning it before glancing back up at Soundwave. “They’re this bad?”

“Requesting excess equipment stores.”

“You are _not_ going,” Starscream said, scowl firmly affixed to his face.

Skywarp sent a withering look toward Starscream before craning his neck slightly to read the datapad in Thundercracker’s grasp. “Orders are orders, Star.” 

“These _orders_ ,” Starscream grabbed the datapad roughly from his mate’s hands, ignoring the protesting exclamations that his actions caused, “were approved simply to insult me!” 

Skywarp’s optics flashed. “Oh, would you lay off with the paranoia!” 

Starscream’s optics widened for a moment, mouth thinning to an angered line as he turned blazing optics to Skywarp.

Thundercracker turned back to Soundwave, his low voice nearly drowned out by the argument still carrying on in the background. “I’ll be at the airlock on time.” 

Accepting the dismissal, Soundwave turned and left. Thundercracker watched his retreating form for a moment as he half listened to his mates arguing behind him. “Enough,” he rumbled low. “The whos or whys don’t matter. I’m going.”

“I’m your commanding officer, bondmate or not! You are _not_ going!” Starscream raged, pointing the stolen datapad at his mate in an accusatory gesture. He backed away as Thundercracker stepped closer. Not in fear, but wary nonetheless.

“What’s wrong with you, Starscream?” Skywarp’s voice lowered, deep and resonating in a rare show of irritation. 

“What’s ‘ _wrong_ ’ with me,” Starscream’s voice began to rise, “is that this plan is a farce! A team of two is not _nearly_ enough to go to Fort Scyk!”

“Fort Scyk?” Thundercracker asked questioningly, “Isn’t that where lots of new recruits get sent?” 

“It’s near neutral territory, isn’t it?” Skywarp put in sharply. 

“That neutral territory is a breeding ground for Autobot spies and mercenaries, and there are more than just ‘new recruits’ placed in that sector,” Starscream said softly, thoughtfully, but would not elaborate on the subject. “I’m going to speak with Megatron about this.” 

“Sweetling,” Thundercracker started, “I’ll come back.” The angry scowl instantly melted to a pout. Thundercracker reached forward, hand sliding along the dark curve of his mate’s chin, thumb brushing over his cheek. “Promise. And I’ll be quick and careful too.”

“What’s the big deal?” Skywarp asked. “Not like he’s even going outside our territory, and the Autobots are too weak to do anything anyway.”

“The Autobots are not what I’m worried about. Neither are the neutrals.” Starscream pulled his chin away from his bondmate’s touch, giving him a determined look. “Slag the mission. I’ll speak with Megatron.” 

“And what? Get yourself slagged for wasting his time?” Skywarp scoffed angrily, and Thundercracker looked over at him in surprise.

Starscream’s momentary calm evaporated in a flash. “Megatron is wasting _all_ of our time with this slag!” He threw the datapad hard at the ground, shattering it. “If he was a more competent leader, he would _know_ that these orders are a mistake!” 

“Oh!” Skywarp responded hotly, tilting his head back with a cruel grin. “I’m sure your idea of ‘better’ would be if you were included.” 

Thundercracker shook his head with a frown before interrupting the frothing rant that he could feel Starscream working his way up to. “I’m going,” he stated quietly. 

“Thundercracker!” Starscream nearly shouted. 

“I’m out of time, Star,” Thundercracker replied, gently, looking back just in time to see blue hands fly up in frustration as Starscream turned and stormed back into their quarters. 

“Have a nice trip, TC,” Skywarp growled, still in a temper as he walked to follow their mate. 

Thundercracker nearly stopped at the string of colorful curses that came across the bond.

_Slagging slagger locked me out!_

Thundercracker sighed yet again when he realized that, quarters door aside, Starscream had also set up blocks on the bond. He shook his head slightly at their bad tempers. He felt guilty for having to leave without calming his mates, but felt confident that it would blow over before he got back. 

~ | ~

When Thundercracker stepped into the deck lift, he was surprised to find Soundwave standing there, a silent sentry in the half-lit confines of the lift. Thundercracker stared at him mutely, unsure what to make of his presence. Even if he had more to discuss with him, it could have just as easily been done at the docking tower, rather than here, with the two of them standing stiffly inside of the still open lift. 

Soundwave moved almost imperceptibly before his filtered voice cut through the awkward silence. “Docking tower bay.” 

The shuddering and familiar vibration of the moving mechanism snapped Thundercracker out of his stupor and he relaxed slightly, moving to lean against the lift wall. A thoughtful frown pulled downward on his lips as he watched the still silent and immobile Soundwave, trying to reason why he had waited in such an unusual spot. 

Most found Soundwave completely disquieting. His abilities and tendency to catalogue the actions of those around him drove a few of the Decepticons, like Starscream, to the brink of paranoia. Most of them, however, also had a penchant for attempting to overthrow or otherwise sabotage Megatron. Soundwave’s loyalties were no secret. Was there ever a time that he had actively worked against the Decepticon leader? 

Thundercracker could not recall even the hint of a rumor, if so. Even the recent conspiracy involving the drug had been to the benefit of all involved, and was not an active participation to damage or otherwise hinder their commander. Not in the seeker’s opinion, at least. The mistake that most made was in the assumption that the telepath would use every thought as a weapon. Thundercracker knew quite personally that this was not the case. He was absolutely certain of that fact. 

Well, fairly certain, at the very least. For, even though he had quickly caught on to the intricacies of blocking his sparkmates from his thoughts, he had been abysmally wretched at blocking his mind from telepathic impositions. Starscream had grilled each new seeker that he took into his squadron about the finer art of blocking their thoughts in preparation for working with the talented telepath. The way that Starscream talked about it, you would have thought that Soundwave could put thoughts in your processor without you even knowing it. 

It was an unfortunate twist that Starscream had a wingmate who was so blatantly bad at the skill that he had foregone even attempting to block his thoughts after several dozen stellar cycles of trying. Back then, he had nothing to gain by blocking his thoughts from Soundwave, and harbored no information that could be used against him. Back then, he had not expected the process of war to be so very confusing or the various methods employed by his faction to fill him with such doubt. 

It had been much more difficult on Cybertron to validate the destruction of the planet’s metropolises with the increasingly vague reasons given to them by their leader. Doubt had plagued his processor, nearly disgusted by the art of war being turned into such play and sport by so many of his fellow Decepticons. But what could he expect? Renegades and outlaws had been taken in to fill the ranks against the Autobot armies, and the new recruits were accepting of, or taught the ‘Decepticon’ way. Not many still functioned who were as old as his trine. 

Thundercracker closed his optics, tilting his chin slightly downward as he listened to the soft machinery working within the lift. He was secretly thankful for the small lull that had taken place recently on the frontlines. Megatron had been more engaged with happenings on Cybertron than his goals involving the blue planet that they currently occupied. He couldn’t call it home. Not with such a boringly flat landscape and unpredictable winds, but he was still silently glad for the balm it had been for his doubts. 

He did not approve of many of the callous methods taken that could potentially destroy the hapless natives of the planet, but neither did he look forward to the doubt that their return to Cybertron would surely bring. And now that he was bonded to Starscream…

“Thundercracker.” 

Thundercracker raised his head, opening questioning optics to find the telepath’s head turned directly toward him. He could not read any expression through the masks which hid Soundwave’s face, nor did the voice sound any different than any other time he had heard it, but for some reason the seeker felt as though the hail was more personal than usual. 

“There is no room for doubts on this mission,” Soundwave said, using more words than he normally would to impress the importance of the task once again.

Thundercracker’s frown deepened, and he nodded slightly in understanding. Just because he did not block the telepath from his thoughts did not mean he welcomed the intrusion, and he wondered suddenly if Soundwave would be so keen on reading his thoughts if he was to start thinking more inappropriate things about Starscream, whom he obviously disliked so much. 

“Information undesired,” Soundwave said flatly as the lift came to a halt, the door sliding open to reveal the docking bay. 

Thundercracker couldn’t stop the smile from reaching his lips as he stepped out, imagining for a moment what the telepath would have sounded like if he allowed the indignation he surely felt into his vocalizer. 

“Mission timeframe: Four orns.” Pulling a datapad from subspace, Soundwave handed it over to Thundercracker. “Maximum time allowable-”

“Four orns. Understood,” Thundercracker said seriously, and nodding slightly, he watched as the lift doors slid shut and the slight whir of mechanics signaled its departure. The datapad in his hand bleeped to life, the screen lighting up to show a full duplicate of the mission instructions that he had been given earlier. Flipping through it, Thundercracker couldn’t help but be impressed that Soundwave had so accurately anticipated the destruction of the first datapad without having to be told. 

Starscream would be so angry that Soundwave, of all mechs, had been able to so accurately predict his behavior. 

Thundercracker laughed.


	11. Chapter 11

There was something therapeutic about the feeling of metal giving way beneath the solid punches of his fist. He could get lost in it, the sensation of wires tangling between his fingers as he pulled at them violently, laughing as they ripped and tore from their connectors, sorting brackets bending back from the force. Bringing his other hand forward, he thrust blue fingers through thick glass, reveling in the slow sound of fractures skittering across the surface just before it gave way under the pressure. 

Shards of glass fell around his wrist, clinking loudly and spreading across the floor, and he chuckled cruelly as he felt the disrupted electrical current tingle harmlessly against his outer plating. Taking a step back from the wrecked circuitry, he thrust his arm forward angrily, firing a lengthy shot from his nullray into the exposed mess of mechanics. It sparked horribly and sputtered once before it went out, the lights overhead blinking frantically as they valiantly attempted to keep from going offline. 

The smell reaching his olfactory sensors was sharp and thick, of twisted metal and melting wires, electrical sparks starting small fires that winked out as soon as their fuel was consumed. In Starscream’s mind, it was the smell of violence. The last high-pitched whine the mechanism let out before going offline completely was like victory. Its shattered remains scattered carelessly as proof of his cruelty, and he drank in the sight with fever bright optics. 

“Megatron is doing this to provoke me,” Starscream spat viciously as he began to pace back and forth in front of the decimated communications console. For three breems he had attempted to contact Megatron through normal channels and by personal comm, eventually giving up on contacting him directly and trying to reach him through the ship’s inner communications system. 

He fought for calm through his frustrated anger. Megatron had to realize how stupid it was to send such a small party to Stanix, and a not so small part of him wondered if it was a calculated ploy to get rid of his bondmate permanently. Reason overrode paranoia as he realized that Soundwave would never use his creations for such a petty and insignificant scheme. The rest of him, however, fairly howled with outrage and fear at the thought of any potential threat or damage to Thundercracker. It would be like a direct assault on his personal being.

Megatron _knew_ what an opportunity separating his mates from him would be. He could more easily destroy them one by one, or have them put into stasis and used as leverage. 

Shivers wracked Starscream’s systems and he stopped pacing as possibilities flooded his processor. For one fleeting moment he was overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness. If his mates did not stay close to him, then how could he protect them? He couldn’t! He was not foolish enough to think that he had many friends among the Decepticons. He knew that most of them outright despised him -not that it would matter once he was leader- but it suddenly mattered now. 

He couldn’t protect his mates if they were away from him, and he had no friends among the other Decepticons who could be counted on to help. He hadn’t been able to protect Thundercracker from the Autobots. Wasn’t able to protect him from knowing the destructive power of the drug. He couldn’t-

“Starscream.” 

“What is it?!” Starscream barked hoarsely at the direct communication. 

There was a moment of hesitation before a disrespectful voice that he finally recognized as Ramjet came back across the comm. “You said you wanted to have reports sent to you directly.” 

“Well? Get on with it!” 

Another moment of silence stretched, and Starscream could practically hear the distasteful sneer over the comm. “Thundercracker, Misfire, Triggerhappy, and Slugslinger just departed the base.” 

Starscream cut off the communication with a frustrated hiss, and kicked the ruined computer panel on the wall several times, leaving large dents in the previously undamaged lower portion of the station. Air cycled quickly through his intakes as he attempted to regain some sense of calm. He still had some time to get this farce of a mission called off. 

Decision made, he stormed across the quarters, unlocking the entryway as he exited. He didn’t spare a glance for Skywarp, fuming and pacing in the hallway.

Skywarp stared incredulously after Starscream for a moment, then ran to head him off, stubbornly blocking his path. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Skywarp asked in a low voice. 

Starscream stopped, pinning his mate with a questioning look. For a moment he considered not answering, then decided that Skywarp had some right to know. “To speak with Megatron.” 

“No.” The look on Skywarp’s face suddenly became uncommonly serious. They were both still blocking one another within their bond, but Starscream had seen that look enough times to recognize when Skywarp was mustering up his own stubborn determination. 

Recognizing it, however, did not stop the frustrated anger that coiled deep within Starscream like a vengeful and poisonous snake. “ _No_?” Starscream growled, and pushed in close, pinning Skywarp with a furious glare.

Skywarp was momentarily taken aback by the harsh reaction, but then his own anger flared up at his mate’s constant and dangerously insubordinate behavior. “No! There isn’t any reason to. Orders are orders.”

“Then listen well to _this_ order,” Starscream grabbed black armor, firmly pressing forward, “and get _out_ of my way!”

Skywarp pressed back, stubbornly refusing to back down. “Sorry, _Commander_ , but I’m not moving.”

“What happened to ‘orders are orders’, you hypocritical skidplate kisser?!”

“That’s only for _proven_ leaders!”

The response was instantaneous, and Skywarp let out a pained grunt as Starscream slammed him harshly against the corridor wall, his audios ringing slightly as blue hands gripped his armor plating hard enough to dent. “I am an _infinitely_ more capable leader than that self appointed slag-maker could ever be!” 

“Star,” Skywarp glared in a rare display of defiance, hands still gripping at stiff blue wrists. “You-”

“Shut up,” Starscream interrupted sharply, bringing their faces inches apart, his optics burning brightly with feverish intensity. “You will obey me, or I will show you how merciless I can be!” 

A humorless laugh was Skywarp’s reply as he let his head fall back against the wall. “Show me, Star? Will you really?” His own optics brightened to match the challenge held in those of his bondmate, and silence stretched between them in the battle of wills. 

Starscream was the first to break the tension, his optics dimming back to a more normal glow. “Do not test me, Warp.” 

Skywarp’s expression turned indignant for a moment. “Don’t threaten your bondmate, _Sweetling_.”

The use of the endearment felt terribly out of place in the tenseness of the situation, but it jolted Starscream with a sudden awareness of just how close they were to one another, his body pressed hard against Skywarp’s, most of the crew still blissfully in recharge in these early hours of the morning. And though they were both angrily blocking the other from their minds, they couldn’t help but react to their closeness, the tingling sensation of warm air teasing softly at facial sensors, feeling their sparks calling out to one another.

Starscream paused, realizing the way his mouth was hovering precariously close to Skywarp’s, sensors already straining for every sensation of movement and warmth. He had been reacting to their proximity without realizing it, and found the thought unappealing. Focusing his resolve, he pushed himself away from Skywarp, his anger once again beginning to escalate, and now made worse by the longing in his spark. “Don’t try to distract me.” 

“Are you saying I’m distracting?” Skywarp responded after a breathless moment, his previously sarcastic smile turning to an endearing grin.

Turning his head away from the display, Starscream snorted and left his bondmate behind. 

~ | ~

Megatron allowed himself a smirk as Starscream stormed into the War Room. Beyond that single quirk of his lips he ignored the seeker, content instead to stare at the miniscule blips of organic blue light as a swarm of intermittently glowing sea creatures drifted by.

Besides. Starscream wasn’t known for allowing a silence to stretch.

“Call them back! Or send more!” Starscream’s demanding voice was high and tight, the scratchiness even more pronounced than usual. “Scyk is too dangerous! Sending only two seekers is-”

“Oh, I’m certain _you_ don’t want to go to Fort Scyk, Starscream,” Megatron said coolly, and watched as crimson optics widened slightly. He was feeling oddly calm for as… irritable as he’d been. Perhaps it was the inactivity. Perhaps he should start a project of his own while the new systems were built and put into place. “They are Decepticon warriors. In truth, I would expect you to argue how beneath them this mission is, rather than whine over _danger_.”

“You have no right ordering my seekers to do anything! You should have consulted me first! You-”

A low powered blast from Megatron’s fusion cannon blackened the wall a mere hand’s breadth from Starscream’s left wing. “My seekers, you little fool!” He stomped over to Starscream, his momentary calm dissipating as though it had never been. “They are mine, as are you! Before all else they -and you, my treacherous pet- are Decepticons.

“I told you this bond would weaken you! You speak of fears?” Megatron towered over Starscream and paused for a moment to let his greater mass cow him. “Fear what I will do if you disobey me,” he growled. Starscream’s hands came up slightly, unintentionally, but it was still a surrender. Megatron backed off a little, letting his voice smooth out. “I would think you would be pleased when you hear why I require our main force here.”

Megatron turned and paced calmly back to the tall window, his face and glowing red optics reflected, and Starscream knew the tyrant was watching him, not the black ocean. “You’re going to announce me leader and commit ritual suicide? That would be good for the troops to see.”

The red glow narrowed. “You will _never_ rule the Decepticons. Why would _my_ army ever follow a weakling like you?”

“I’m not weak!” The shriek echoed.

Megatron smiled cruelly before turning and glaring at his Second in Command. The glare turned to a snarl as the door opened and Soundwave entered. “What took you so long?” He didn’t wait for an answer and moved to the control panel on the table. “Today we strike the Autobots’ energon convoy.”

“A simple raid? How is that supposed to please me?” Starscream sneered, voice mockingly coy, defiant again as though he had not been cowering a moment ago. He had noticed the reaction to the telepath’s entrance and fought to hide his enjoyment.

Soundwave’s head tipped slightly in his direction as he allowed his barriers to slip just enough to let him sense that amusement, but nothing else.

A topographical map glowed in three-dimensional blue over the table surface, a brighter line snaking through the ridges of mountains and foothills. “Your lack of foresight is disappointing yet unsurprising, Starscream.”

“My lack of foresight?! Yet another energon raid, _mighty_ leader? We should be destroying every Autobot we come across, but instead you have us hiding here on the ocean floor, wasting time! Wasting resources! A mere raid?” Starscream crossed his arms over his chest and glared. “Call Thundercracker back, and my trine alone can decimate that little convoy. Send a proper squad into Stanix!”

The rumble of Megatron’s fusion cannon had Soundwave stepping calmly back and away from Starscream.

“Do you doubt your mate’s abilities, Starscream?” Megatron nearly purred.

“I doubt your sanity!” Starscream raged, completely ignoring the threat to his own safety. 

Soundwave felt the flare as Megatron’s temper snapped. The cannon boomed and Starscream flinched. It was silent for a moment afterwards as the seeker slowly uncurled from his cringe. The wall bore a new scorch mark, but he was unscathed and surprise showed briefly on his face at that fact.

“You are truly fortunate that my plan requires your abilities.” Megatron stepped forward in a measured pace, and Starscream fell back in fear, only to be caught around the throat by a massive black hand. “The only words that fall from that treacherous mouth of yours had better be, ‘Yes, my lord’. Understood?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Megatron smiled in cold pleasure at the fearful whisper, and released his hold, letting Starscream fall to his aft with a clatter of metal on metal. “Gather _my_ seekers, Starscream. I will inform you of their tasks as needed.”

Starscream scowled as he stood. “It would be more effective-”

Soundwave barely contained a sympathetic flinch as Megatron swung out and sent Starscream sprawling. It _would_ be more effective if Starscream was in on the plan, but Soundwave dared not voice that now. He was already getting his way, and would not risk Megatron’s ire turning to him.

Starscream landed hard, the dawning realization that he was not going to get his way, no matter which course he pursued, sending a cold chill through his circuits. His bondmate…

Fear vibrated through him. He alternately longed and feared to lower the blocks on the bond, just so he could touch Thundercracker’s mind again. Feel the soothing calm of his mate that he himself lacked almost utterly. He pushed away the desire. It was weakness. He needed no other.

Starscream pulled himself back to his feet and narrowed his optics at his leader.

“Go gather the troops,” Megatron ordered again, staring him down.

Starscream turned to leave, but froze as the sound of that damn cannon filled the silence again.

“Forgetting something?”

The seeker turned. Unable to force himself to bend completely, he sketched a short mocking bow, and hissed out the words, “Yes, my lord,” then fled before he could be shot.

~ | ~

Starscream was still grumbling and swearing by the time he jumped up from the docking platform and folded easily into his jet mode, afterburners firing, his nose pointed skyward. He seemed to hang suspended for an instant before launching into the air.

Irritated though he was, Skywarp couldn’t help but admire the grace his bonded displayed, even in anger. Especially in anger, he corrected. He took a few running steps and transformed, engines roaring to life and shooting him out over the waves, hearing the roar as the other seekers launched behind him.

At least they’d get to go blow up a few Autobrats.

“Come to forty thousand feet,” Starscream ordered as he gained altitude.

For a time Skywarp let himself be lost in the rush of the cold air over his wings, letting it soothe his temper, trying valiantly not to blame Starscream for being such an arrogant pain in the aft.

A black wing slid into position just behind and below a white, both seekers momentarily content to just fly, ignoring the excited pre-battle chatter from the rest of the aerial command.

Unfortunately, even the skies could not erase Starscream’s ire this morning.

_Megatron is a fool!_ he ranted to himself. There was no reason to send out so many for a simple raid! Not when one trine, _his trine_ , could handle it easily! No, instead the megalomaniac has to send two mechs, only two, to Cybertron, and nearly their entire force after a few worthless Autobot guards with their human granted energon! Pets! The Autobots were human pets!

This mission was stupid for its overkill and excess. It showed as nothing more than Megatron’s desperation. Why send the seekers to run diversionary tactics while the ground troops sneak in and take the energon? Hadn’t the fool said Starscream would like this mission? What was there to enjoy in creeping and looting like common thugs?

He forced back his rage as they drew near to the coordinates.

“So,” Skywarp radioed over. “Do you see them?”

“Do you?” Starscream snapped before refocusing on the mission. Failure would only give Megatron one more reason to rage at him. “They’ve probably already entered the mountain range.”

“Well, let’s go see!” Skywarp dove with a whoop, the other four seekers arrowing down after him.

Starscream followed at a more sedate pace, internals beginning to buzz with a familiar bloodlust. There had been nothing said that would restrict him from deactivating every Autobot in the convoy. That would divert their attention, wouldn’t it? “Stay above their sensor range,” he ordered over the flight command channel. “I want to be sure we see them before they see us.” 

Excited laughter bubbled over the comm, but they all leveled out. They flew well apart, letting their radar systems communicate with one another, creating a much wider sweep range.

“Bet if we shot up a few squishies, they’d come running,” Slugslinger suggested, as his flight path took him over a small valley town.

“With back up! And not the ones we’re after either,” Starscream huffed in irritation. “Just find the Autobots and leave the pathetic wildlife alone.”

There was a blip on his radar, and Starscream rolled easily to his right, cleared a peak, and received the confirmation. “Found them,” he relayed on the open Decepticon channel, sending the coordinates and gaining altitude to keep out of their sensor range.

“Inbound,” Skywarp replied, right before appearing in a streak of purple light beside his mate’s left wing. “Hey, lookit that! Wouldn’t his head make a nice welcome home gift for TC?”

Starscream growled as he identified the Autobots. Beachcomber, Jazz, and- “Ironhide,” he snarled.

It was a light and nearly nondescript few for guarding a shipment of their precious energon. The two officers made sense as both were accomplished warriors and dangerous enough on the battlefield. The other was cannon fodder as far as Starscream was concerned.

Starscream quickly accessed what information he could find on the current enemy roster. None of them had specially fitted anti-air weaponry. The only problem that could present itself was the saboteur’s sensitive hearing, but given the frequency of human military jets he had seen pass over the surrounding areas in the last few hours, he was willing to bet they had grown complacent.

And sometimes, Autobots just forgot to look _up_.

“We are nearly there. Let them enter the canyon, then begin your attacks,” Megatron ordered from his position at the head of the ground force.

Starscream sent the acknowledgement, and began snapping out orders to his seekers. “The first pass is ours. Ramjet and Thrust, you follow behind. Slugslinger and Triggerhappy, you’re last. Any mech stupid enough to blow up the cargo answers to me!”

He and Skywarp flew over and looped back, dropping lower, chasing the winding mountain road. A palpable anticipation stole over both jets as they slalomed precariously on treacherous air currents into the canyon. The rumble of the broken sound barrier echoed through the peaks behind them as they flew wing tip to wing tip, Starscream inching forward as anticipation pushed him to higher speeds than his mate could match.

One more turn.

Without a word between them, both seekers opened fire, electron blasts peppering the ground all around the three Autobots, who spun out in obvious surprise. Their human charges swerved with far less control, only barely saving their cargo from destruction. Earth and rocks sprayed up in a cloud around their prey as they shot past, and a few bolts sizzled as they struck armor. There was return fire that came too little, too late, the shots falling short of their mark as both seekers shot up above the mountain peaks.

“Ramjet!” Starscream shouted. It was an unneeded order, Ramjet already diving with Thrust exactly as planned the moment the Autobots had focused on Starscream and Skywarp.

“Yes!” Skywarp cried, laughing madly.

“Come about,” Starscream ordered, his voice light with the heady rush of battle. They were going to _destroy_ those worthless scrap heaps! With any luck, Ironhide’s demise would be remarkably painful.

They flew around in a perfectly mirrored arc, Skywarp returning to Starscream’s side as they dropped to whip low over the road again, following Slugslinger and Triggerhappy’s run.

_Won’t they know we’re coming this way again?_ Skywarp asked, another thrill spreading through his systems as he realized that Starscream was no longer blocking him out of his mind.

Starscream shrugged mentally. _Might as well have some fun before we deactivate them._

Skywarp snickered, engines roaring. The Autobots came into view, all three doing their best to protect the human trucks. His communication systems blinked at the open-air distress call. 

“Hey, Starscream!” Skywarp shouted over an open communications line. “You hear that?”

Starscream hissed a rasping laugh. “Your little friends will never get here fast enough to save you!” He fired his lasers as he came in range, the Autobots darting off the road as he swept by. Rear sensors showed Beachcomber blown back by his wake.

Skywarp laughed. “Hey, I have an idea!” He teleported, and Starscream’s radar picked up his mate’s signal back along the road they’d followed, coming in fast for another strike.

Skywarp snickered to himself at his cleverness. _It’ll be like I’m on a repeat loop!_ he said laughingly through the bond, pride high in his tone. Instead of lasers he sent two sidewinder missiles at the Autobots, then warped out into the open air instead of flying through the cloud of dirt and debris the explosions caused.

“Electron blasts, you fool!” Starscream shouted as he pulled up short of his own attack, the debris now so thick that he was unable to locate the enemy mechs. The other seekers snapped and grumbled.

“No fair! If I can’t crash into ‘em, then you can’t blow ‘em to bits!” Ramjet shouted, and led his wingmate above the mountain peaks to rejoin Slugslinger and Triggerhappy.

Energy bolts flew wide from the ground, obvious cover fire as it was uncoordinated and poorly aimed. Starscream gained altitude to avoid the shame of being hit by any of the stray bolts.

“Aw, who cares how we slag ‘em, so long as we slag ‘em?” Skywarp asked, firing two more missiles in the general direction he figured the Autobots had gone.

“Skywarp!” Starscream barked sharply. “Stop this foolish assault!”

“Make up your mind, Screamer!” Skywarp growled in a low voice, pulling away from his current course. “Do I attack or not?” 

“Obey your orders!” Starscream shouted, voice shrill.

Skywarp was suddenly on his wing again. “So command me then,” he purred through their private trine channel, voice heavy with distracted excitement. 

A shudder went through Starscream at the suggestive tone, but he forced it aside and scanned for the Autobots again. His radar signals were unable to pick up their energy signatures, which left only one conclusion. “Slaggit! They’ve taken shelter under that ridge.”

“They abandoned the shipment.” Ramjet swooped in behind them with Thrust at his right wing. “I think the humans are with them, too.”

“And we have company coming,” Skywarp added, sending coordinates of the incoming squad of mechs he’d just picked up.

Starscream growled, “Fine. We do it your way. Blow up the ridge and bury them. Then we’ll dig them out and finish them off after the shipment is secured.”

“We could just land and take them,” Skywarp suggested.

“They have the more defensible position on the ground. Follow me and throw everything you have at the rock above their heads.”

“Yessir!” Skywarp chirped.

“The rest of you stay high and guard the ground pounders,” Starscream ordered.

They flew by, banking and weaving between the laser fire from the ground that had become more directed and difficult to dodge. Starscream lined up and let loose a barrage of missiles as they approached, taking pleasure in watching the smoke trails converge on a single ridge as he gained altitude. 

The mountain exploded, rock and dirt raining down, destabilizing the ridge above and causing a landslide. A shrill cackle left Starscream’s vocalizer as he shot overhead, dropping a payload of cluster bombs as they passed, thoroughly enjoying the destructive show he and Skywarp created with their weaponry. Perhaps Megatron had been right after all. He was certainly having fun now.

Skywarp whooped and shot off into the clouds. Starscream pushed his thrusters to the max and launched upwards, easily catching his mate as he dipped and played with the other seekers. He led them back around, transforming and touching down where the ground team emptied the two semi trucks of their load. He motioned his underlings to assist, knowing Skywarp would remain by his side unless specifically commanded otherwise.

“We’re finished here,” Megatron said. “Return to base.”

“What about the Autobots… my lord?” Starscream asked, forcing an innocent expression to his face to match the sweet tone he’d used.

Megatron caught the intentional pause and cast a glare at Starscream. “Leave them. We have what we came for.” Even as he spoke, Decepticons were lifting off, following their orders and returning to base.

“They’re right there!” Starscream shouted, pointing at the hill of rubble. “Injured! Easily destroyed! Yet you’d have us turn tail and flee yet again!” Starscream felt Skywarp’s irritation and clamped down on the bond again. 

Starscream would have continued, but Megatron’s cannon rose. This time, however, it pointed at Skywarp instead of Starscream. “Take your mate from my sight. I’ll not have my good mood ruined by his presence today.”

Before Starscream could protest, dark arms wrapped around his waist and the universe shifted as Skywarp teleported them away. Miles away, Starscream discovered as his global positioning blipped and realigned itself. He shoved his way free of his bonded’s arms, and glared at him before quickly transforming and shooting off in the opposite direction from Megatron, his idiocy, and their base.

“Why are you so mad anyways? Come on, Star. We won. We got the energon and trashed the Autobutts!”

“That was no win,” Starscream said in an ill-tempered sulk. 

“They’re under a _mountain_. We don’t even have scorch marks. How is that not a win?”

“They are,” Starscream corrected with a frustrated sigh, “in all likelihood alive and being rescued. We didn’t win if Ironhide still functions.”


	12. Chapter 12

“So what’s it like?” Misfire’s sudden question caused Thundercracker to wobble a little, he’d been so immersed in his own thoughts.

“What’s what like?”

“You know. Being bo-”

Thundercracker jerked and slapped his wing down hard against Misfire’s. They both lost altitude, and Misfire’s startled cry echoed over the comm in shock. It only served to add to the surrealism Thundercracker was experiencing. What was once a busy sky with an even busier ground below was now dark, silent. There wasn’t a single blip of movement on his radar.

“That hurt!” Misfire shouted.

“Neither of us are to discuss anything about what’s going on with anyone on Earth, not even ourselves. We’re here because Megatron ordered us to retrieve specific items from Soundwave’s old lab. That’s all.” Thundercracker paused, collecting his thoughts, and forcing the anger from his tone. He knew enough about the younger seeker to know that he’d never follow the order completely unless he understood.

“Look. Things are… weird.”

“For you and your-”

Thundercracker swerved.

“Sorry! Sorry! Ok, things are weird, keep it on mute, I got it!” Misfire returned to his place but added a few meters of space between them.

“I meant all of this is weird, and we’re going to Scyk which is a cesspool. Don’t talk about why we have our orders, they aren’t anyone’s business. We are going to land, let the base commander know we’re here so no one accidentally shoots us, go to Soundwave’s lab, get what we need, and go back to Shockwave so we can be on the space bridge the nanoklik it realigns.

“We’ve only got four orns before this becomes a big waste of time and energon, and we end up with a very upset telepath trying to decide who to take his grief out on.” 

“I think you’re givin’ old Soundwave a bit too much of an emotional range there,” Misfire snickered.

“Really?” Thundercracker asked sarcastically. “Then why does no one seem know exactly why it’s not smart to get on his bad side, or what exactly happened to those who did?”

“Maybe because he’s all shadows and mystery and it freaks people out?”

“Or maybe you should take it from someone who’s been around long enough to remember the last mech that slagged him off, like for real, not just annoyed the Pits out of him. There’s a reason even Megatron doesn’t mess too much with Soundwave, and I personally would like to keep my processors functioning.”

“Ok, TC, I get it.”

“Don’t call me that! Even _if_ I found it acceptable, we’re strictly business here.” 

Thundercracker transformed and slowed until Misfire did so as well, hovering and looking curiously at him. He drifted closer, giving the younger seeker a serious look.

“Look,” Thundercracker said quietly. “We’re Megatron’s frontline force, we’re representatives of his authority and power right now. We’re elite and we need to act it here. If nothing else, think of it this way: Megatron would be pretty pissed off if anyone used recent events against him, and the only way anyone here would be able to do that would be if one of us said something. And just what do you think he’d do to that one of us then?”

Red optics widened a little, and a small shudder ran through Misfire’s frame. “I’ll just see how playing the strong, silent type works out for me, shall I?” He forced a smile that looked a little too sickly to be sincere.

“We don’t owe anyone here any answers. Only reason I’m bothering with letting the local commander know we’re here is because I don’t want to get caught by any automated security devices in the city.” Thundercracker began pulling away, preparing to transform. “Just keep close, and we’ll get in and out and done.” _And get back to my mates!_ He folded into jet mode and launched away, Misfire catching up quickly and falling into a tight formation, just under and slightly back from his right wing.

~ | ~ 

The scene they came upon was one of complete disaster. The air was still hazy with dust and debris, the road completely covered over in rock, dirt, and broken trees. Further along, the broken and empty trailers that had held their processed energon lay crumpled on their sides.

“I have a faint reading here,” Prowl said, walking up the slope of tumbled earth. “The signal appears to be Ironhide’s.”

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe followed him up as Bluestreak scanned the air for the possible return of their enemies.

“Prowl to Hoist.”

“Hoist here. Go ahead, Prowl.”

“I’m sending our coordinates. Ironhide, Jazz, and Beachcomber were attacked by Decepticons, and are currently trapped underground. Their cargo is gone, and the road is blocked. Is the last truck functioning now?”

“Yes. We’re on our way. See you within a cycle.”

“Keep your guard up for any hostile presence, and please make haste. Prowl out.” He moved a few steps away as the twin warriors began to work. “Prowl to command,” the tactician said over the comlink.

“Receiving. Please transmit identification,” Red Alert’s voice came back.

“Send Ratchet and notify Prime,” Prowl ordered, ignoring the odd request. “We-”

“Please transmit identification,” the Security Chief repeated.

“Red Alert,” Prowl said in an even tone, despite his mounting irritation. “I have three soldiers buried under a landslide.”

“I’m testing new security measures, Prowl- if you are indeed Prowl. Now please transmit your identification.”

Caught between the desire to pull rank and the need to get the injured free, Prowl chose the logical and faster option. He transmitted his identification codes as well as his encrypted command code for security override -he wasn’t above making a point after all- and gave Red Alert a few nanokliks to process before asking, “Well?”

“Thank you.” There was a momentary silence, and then Red Alert spoke again. “Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Tracks, and Hot Rod are all en route.”

“Good. Prowl out.” He cut the transmission, and turned to see how much progress the twins had made.

“No!” Prowl shouted, but it was too late.

Sideswipe began pummeling the unstable ground with his pile drivers. There was a rumble that Prowl felt more than heard. He moved as fast as he could, jerking both mechs back with him as they lost their balance and tumbled down the incline. He looked up and roughly shoved Sunstreaker off his chest.

“Move!” he snapped. “Bluestreak! Move!”

Bluestreak turned in time to see the slope far above their heads begin to slip free. Without further prompting, he dove into his alternate mode, tires squealing for purchase, and took off back up the road. Prowl waited long enough to allow the twins to pull ahead of him, and then redlined his own throttle.

Sideswipe spun to a stop and transformed next to Bluestreak, Sunstreaker rising only a moment later. Prowl pulled to a stop and stood. He watched as the dust began to settle, and Sideswipe knew he was in trouble. Prowl’s door wings were held high and stiff as he slowly turned and looked Sideswipe dead in the optics. It was the absolute blankness of his expression that caused the frontliner to flinch.

“I didn’t mean-”

“We will discuss this later,” Prowl interrupted smoothly. He turned back and began walking toward the mass of earth, and Sideswipe found himself on the receiving end of two angry glares.

 _Great going, dumbaft,_ Sunstreaker snapped through their bond.

Bluestreak just shook his head, and trudged after the tactician.

 _I was trying to help,_ Sideswipe protested, even more upset that his twin would side against him. _I just wanted to get to them faster._

 _That’s not gonna happen now, is it?_ Sunstreaker snarled, a growl rumbling from his chest.

Bluestreak glanced back at them curiously before resuming his scan of the skies.

As promised, it took less than a cycle for the second squad to reach them. There was some complaining and doubting by the human driver, but Prowl ordered the man from the truck, and had the twins, Grapple and Hound move it to the other side of the roadblock. Two and a half cycles later, Optimus and his team arrived. Grapple knew what he was doing and the excavation was moving along.

Tracks and Hot Rod escorted the remaining truck back to base, and the rest of them went to work. Bluestreak had wanted to help as well, but Prowl ordered him to keep watch. It was rare that the Decepticons would attack the day after a battle, and this unpredictable behavior left them all nervous.

This was no random patrol, but a coordinated attack. Worse, it had been a successful attack, and now the Autobots were going to have to deal with only a third of their usual monthly energon allotment.

Bluestreak didn’t understand why they accepted energon from the humans. Of course Autobots didn’t steal, but surely Wheeljack or Perceptor could come up with something so they could collect their own. That wasn’t really Bluestreak’s place to say, but the idea of rationing again, after being well-supplied for so long, was… annoying. The humans were mostly ok, he supposed. Something of a nuisance at times with the way they blamed the Autobots for not stopping the Decepticons, but still wanted them to show up at events and schools, and show off and sign autographs, and stuff. 

Bluestreak shook his rambling thoughts away and refocused, listening as the others dug, and called back and forth to one another. He stood, weapon in hand, and scanned the sky. He still jumped every time he heard jet engines, and nearly shot down a human craft before realizing that the large, grey airplane was not a seeker.

Ratchet allowed himself a split second to sigh in relief as Jazz was pulled from the soil and rocks. The saboteur’s face was drawn and tired, his body dented and paint scraped down to bare metal in places. The medic’s scans told him what he already guessed from the way Jazz’s respiration cycled loud and fast. Jazz was nearly overheating from the lack of cool fresh air cycling through his systems.

“Don’ think the humans made it,” Jazz reported as he looked up at Optimus. “Once the mountain came down, that was it. I was near one, but got shoved around pretty bad an’ lost ‘im.”

“Shut up and lay still,” Ratchet ordered, and pushed on Jazz’s chest until he laid back.

Prime nodded, his posture showing his distress over the news more than his masked face could. “There is still hope. Ironhide and Beachcomber still function. We know where they are, and perhaps one of them was able to protect the other man.”

It was a shallow hope, and they all knew it.

Ratchet switched tools as needed and focused on his patient. At least Jazz was one of the better ones. He would lie calmly instead of fidgeting and asking Ratchet if he was done yet every half breem. “You’re going to need these panels pounded out, a serious scrubbing in the wash racks, and then I’m going to have to go through your systems with compressed air. And that’s just the stuff I can see easily.”

“Ooo! Compressed air!” Jazz giggled. “That always tickles!” Ratchet just knew he was being leered at from behind that visor. “Before it starts to feel good.”

Ratchet rolled his optics skyward, and went back to work on the worst of the crushed armor panels, sealing any leaks that the jagged edges had torn in Jazz’s tubing and lines.

Beachcomber was the next to be unearthed. He had been caught in the lee of a boulder and besides being dirty, was only sporting minor dents and scrapes to his finish. He cycled fast breaths, and Ratchet was pleased to see his cooling system wasn’t as taxed as Jazz’s had been.

Ironhide was in stasis lock when they finally reached him. He was found hunched over the human driver, obviously trying to protect him. Alas, the man had not survived. A mech could only pause his respirations for as long as he was conscious and not in danger of overheating. Ironhide’s systems had already been heated from the fight, and with his injuries, he would have overheated quickly. As soon as Ironhide succumbed to stasis lock, his cooling systems would have been forced back online in an effort to save him. The human had expired from lack of oxygen within the first hour.

Optimus watched as Ironhide was carefully laid on the ground, and Ratchet began his assessment. “Will he be alright?”

“Yes, but I think it’d be best to leave him in stasis until we get back to the Ark. He’s damaged more severely than the other two, but none of it is life threatening once treated.” Ratchet tugged a ruined bit of armor away and instantly set himself to closing the punctures in Ironhide’s energon lines.

“Then why not bring him back online?” Hound asked.

“Because his repairs will be somewhat extensive, and he’ll just bitch about me pinching this or that, or I’ll have to listen to ‘Hurry up Ratch, I’ma rust ‘fore ya finish.’” A few chuckles sounded at Ratchet’s rather good imitation.

Optimus smiled briefly beneath his battlemask before his mind shifted back to the dead humans and lost energon. Ratchet stood, signaling that he was confident that his patches would hold. “Load up and let’s roll out,” Prime ordered, transforming and waiting for the damaged mechs to be placed within his trailer before he pulled away. He was not looking forward to the discussion with their liaison. Undoubtedly, they would be requested to return and clear the road as well, but he was not willing to risk any more of his people this day. The humans would have to wait.

~ | ~

Thundercracker turned his sensors back to the ground and watched the dull, lifeless metal below. Deep, war-torn wounds marred the planet’s surface, evidence of harsh battles. The damage to Cybertron’s hard alloy surface alone was proof of heavy artillery fire. Most were obviously quite old, and blackened scores of plasma damage showed clearly on the deathly gray metal. All of it was highlighted by the dark stillness of once busy skies and the deafening emptiness of broadcast silence.

They were coming up on the first patch of color they’d seen since leaving Shockwave’s compound. Acid lakes. The pale green pools of fluid all but sparkled, so reminiscent of Earth’s odd bodies of water that Thundercracker’s spark ached at the sight. The absolute ruin of it struck him, reminding him of forgotten worries and doubts. This was how they were helping Cybertron?

“Contact detected, Sir, starboard, forty-three degrees, closing on our position,” Misfire reported, his tone crisp and businesslike.

Thundercracker smirked inwardly, glad for the distraction. At least Misfire had taken their little chat to spark. “Acknowledged,” he replied, and then sent out a ping to the unknown mech to let him know he’d been seen. He received a questioning tone in response, and decided that it was time to put his own words into practice. It was a Decepticon signal so Thundercracker continued on his path, content to let the other mech catch up at his own pace.

“Unknown seekers, you have entered Fort Scyk air space. Transmit designations and authorization codes immediately,” a haughty voice cut through on their radios.

Thundercracker almost chuckled. Instead of answering, he tuned his sensors to the approaching Decepticon and gave the mech a thorough, obvious sweep. The type that would disrupt scanners for the duration and tell Thundercracker everything but his thoughts. Over their private channel, he sent the data burst to Misfire. It would be picked up if this youngling seeker was doing his job, but he wouldn’t know what they were saying.

“Change position to lead, be ready to move when I signal you,” Thundercracker ordered, and was pleased as Misfire slid ahead of him smoothly, gaining a little more speed. The yellow seeker began his own return scan, and Thundercracker sent a tone to Misfire, gave his temporary wingmate two nanokliks, and then dumped fuel into his engines. The resulting burst of speed launched him past the sound barrier, leaving a thunderous boom in his wake.

The yellow jet wavered, but Thundercracker had to admit to being impressed with how quickly he recovered. Thundercracker slowed instantly to cruising speed, and Misfire returned to his former place behind his right wing. “Perhaps you should call us in to your commander,” he ordered in a growling voice to the new mech.

It took a moment for the youngling to respond, but when he did, Thundercracker had to suppress another laugh at the barely leashed fury in his voice. “Of course,” the yellow tetrajet bit out. “If you would please relay-”

The transmission cut out suddenly, and Misfire’s voice sounded over the private channel. “Switch to frequency fifty-three, ninety-two.”

Thundercracker did so and the subject of the alert took him by surprise. “ **-ert! All personnel, report to base on comm channel six! Rain Alert! All personnel-** ” Rain?! Primus, how had he forgotten about Cybertron’s rain? He switched through the frequencies until the haughty young voice sounded in his audio receptors.

“Alpha Patrol to base, returning with two unknown, uncooperative Decepticon seekers. ETA, point four breems.”

“Acknowledged,” a dull voice responded.

“ _Sirs_ ,” the yellow seeker sneered. “If you’ll follow-”

“Fall in, cadet. I know how to get to the base, unless there’s anything else in this sector that could be putting out radio broadcasts,” Thundercracker snapped. Then, just because he was having fun with the brat, added, “And try to keep up.” He shot forward, rather impressed that Misfire managed to hold his position without any warning.

The base came into sight, and just beyond it, moving in fast, was the rain, visible as a pale green wall. Their ‘escort’ moved forward impatiently, sending a short data burst with the coordinates of the entrance. Thundercracker shifted course without bothering to respond, transforming and touching down lightly on the walkway with Misfire right behind him, the red seeker pulling off one of his more graceful landings for a change.

Waiting for them in front of the door was a large purple and silver mech. He was a good head taller than Thundercracker and obviously some type of jet in his alternate form, yet he was no seeker. It wasn’t his size or the scars and scratches, or minutely dented armor that caught Thundercracker’s attention, it was the weaponry. This big flyer was practically bristling with firepower.

“What business brings you to Fort Scyk?” the rough, deep voice of the large mech asked.

“Are you this base’s commander?” Thundercracker asked instead of answering. He didn’t want to get into a fight with this mech, but he wasn’t about to show even a hint of intimidation.

“I am. Designation Thunderwing. Now state your business or enjoy the rain.”

Thundercracker gave the other a tight smile and transmitted his and Misfire’s designations and rank. “I’d like to keep my colors, Commander Thunderwing.”

Scarlet optics widened slightly in surprise before Thunderwing masked his reaction. “Follow me,” he said, and turned just as the rain began to hiss against the ground inside of the fortress walls.

Thundercracker and Misfire tried to appear nonchalant as they hurriedly followed, and the yellow seeker brought up the rear, the door sliding down to seal behind him.

“Forgive my caution. Unannounced strangers aren’t common here.” There was admonishment in Thunderwing’s tone. 

“And forgive us if we gave you a fright,” Thundercracker smiled easily, pleased he’d lived around Starscream long enough to learn how to veil insults in pleasantries.

Scyk’s Commander was plainly intelligent enough to catch the insult as his optics narrowed. “And what brings two of Lord Megatron’s guard to our humble city?”

“An errand for required supplies,” Thundercracker answered. “How long do the rains last around here?” 

“Anywhere from only a few breems to entire rotations.” Thunderwing’s gaze shifted to the youngling. “Sunstorm,” and what a fitting name that was for the blindingly gold-yellow tetrajet, “take them to quarters and see to their… comfort. Notify them when the rains stop.”

Without another word, Thunderwing turned and walked away. Thundercracker felt an optic ridge rise at the commander’s obvious dismissal, and cast a sidelong glance at Misfire, who arched a ridge himself in response.

“This way,” Sunstorm said, his voice much less haughty than before.

They paced silently through surprisingly empty corridors until the yellow seeker spoke again, curiosity evident in the quiet tone. “What’s Earth like?”

Thundercracker blinked. “Flat,” he said tonelessly.

The youngling nodded once, and turned another corner. He punched a code, simultaneously sending it to Thundercracker and Misfire. “I’ll bring some energon to you after I file my patrol report.” Sunstorm waited for them to enter the room, and then the door closed behind them.

“Primus. Think he was bright enough?”

Thundercracker looked at Misfire and chuckled, shaking his head, then glancing around. It wasn’t much, and made him realize just how spoiled he’d become by having quarters in the Decepticons’ flagship.

“This sucks slag,” Misfire grouched, hands landing on his hips as he scowled at their accommodations. “It’s got one slaggin’ berth and it’s rusting! And what the frag happened to the padding? I think it’s older than me!”

“I’ve slept in worse.”

Misfire snorted, then sounded uncertain. “What if it’s catching?”

“What?”

“The rust. I don’t want to rust.”

Thundercracker couldn’t help the laugh that burst from him. He cuffed Misfire lightly in the head. “Idiot. I’m gonna recharge. It’s big enough to share, but if you touch me, I’ll tell.” He snickered at the irritated look he was given, and dropped to the thin and worn foam of the recharge berth, folding one wing down and flopping to his side.

Misfire grumbled something too low to hear, but Thundercracker didn’t care. He was going to take this opportunity to rest while he could.

~ | ~

Skywarp never thought that he would ever, not even for a moment, find the sky anything less than exhilarating.

It wasn’t something that any seeker questioned, just accepted. He personally had no interest in how it came about, but there wasn’t a single seeker whose spark didn’t yearn for the freedom of the sky. 

In his opinion, the fact that there was an Autobot flyer that feared the heights was a true testament that they were meddling in things that did not belong to them. He felt most at home where the wind turned cold enough to freeze the moisture on his wings, and the curve of the planet became his new horizon. There was nothing that made him feel more alive than trusting himself to the mercy of the wind. It was intrinsically true for every seeker that was ever built and ever would be. 

Every seeker except, apparently, for Starscream. 

Starscream, instead, seemed perfectly satisfied to cruise at a boringly low altitude at a speed that was just a hair above stalling. He had simply commanded Skywarp to stay quiet and keep formation. The ground crawled by below them. 

“Star,” Skywarp had whined after only two breems of the slow pace. “Prime could outrun us wearing a blindfold and a rocket pack!” 

His complaints had met with stony silence, so he eventually gave up, trying instead to occupy himself by switching his position several times at the back of Starscream’s wings. The feel of different pressures and air currents kept him entertained, but not for long. He even slowed down enough to let his engines stall twice, just barely managing regain altitude before he smashed into the ground. 

Starscream hadn’t so much as twitched, making it quite clear that Skywarp could smash his face straight into the ground for all he cared. It didn’t matter if they weren’t high enough to do more than bend his wings at the very worst. He still didn’t even yell at him for being an idiot. 

The fragger. 

Skywarp broke formation after that, accelerating and skimming mountaintops, then circling back around to where Starscream still held the same crawling course. He was beginning to feel decidedly ignored. 

Which is how he ended up flying alongside his mate, waiting a few moments for any reaction, and then turning his body sharply and slapping his wing tip down against a white wing edge to get his attention.

Skywarp was amazed that his bondmate barely even lost two meters of altitude from the sudden contact. He was sure it would have knocked him clear off course. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Starscream growled, obviously still irate. 

“What are you doing?” Skywarp shot back. “We could have flown back to the base three times by now.” 

“Except for the fact that I ordered you to keep formation!” Starscream snarled, his temper visibly rising. 

Skywarp had to circle back when Starscream suddenly transformed into mech form, slowing his acceleration until he was hovering above one of the last mountains in the chain they were passing over. Skywarp was just transforming beside him when Starscream began seething again. “Are you going to question everything I say from now on?” 

“Not _everything_ ,” Skywarp replied with a wry grin. 

Starscream hissed. “Land.” 

“Wh-”

“ _Land_!” Starscream grabbed Skywarp by his arm canons, dropping them both onto a rocky slope before shoving away with enough force to make Skywarp stumble. 

“What was that for?” 

“Shut up!” Starscream hissed again, looking as though he either wanted to pace or shoot something.

Skywarp hated it when anyone paced in front of him. It normally meant that he was going to have to put up with a lecture. 

Starscream glared out over the mountain landscape for so long that Skywarp thought that he had forgotten about him yet again. 

“We had those Autobots,” Starscream finally said, his voice still a seething hiss. “We _had_ them, and they got away because _you_ can’t seem to follow simple orders any longer!” 

A blue hand covered Skywarp’s mouth the moment he opened it to protest, the other hand grasped the back of his helm as soon as he tried to pull his head away. He fumed silently at the unfair assessment. There was no guarantee the Autobots wouldn’t have taken cover under that ridge, whether he’d fired missiles or not.

“I want you to be _silent_ and listen!” Starscream continued, keeping a firm hold on his mate’s head. “If you were anyone else, I would have just shot you and saved myself the trouble.” 

Skywarp wanted to point out that his bondmate most likely wouldn’t have shot Thundercracker either, but he couldn’t with his mouth still being held firmly closed. He doubted Starscream would be too happy if he sent a private comm or pushed at the bond just to correct him. 

“Megatron has already expressed his _opinion_ that our new situation will leave us weakened, rather than give us an advantage.”

Skywarp wondered briefly if he should be angry or threatened by what Starscream was saying. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop thinking about how Starscream’s canopy was pressing against his own long enough to be either. 

Even more unfortunate was the fact that he was concentrating so fully on the vibrations coming from Starscream’s thrumming systems that he managed to miss most of whatever he was being lectured about.

He had heard just enough so that he only paused a nanoklik when the hand was finally removed from his mouth. But it wasn’t until his own fingers tightened around a blue wrist, that he even realized he had brought his hand up to grasp it. 

“So,” Skywarp said slowly, “just be better at following orders?” 

Starscream’s optics narrowed at him, looking as though he thought him incapable of processing the simplest of information. “Have you been listening _at all_?” 

Completely unfazed by the show of dangerous ire, Skywarp pressed forward slightly, hissing at the feeling of glass sliding across sensitized glass. The sensation made his spark throb, and all thoughts of being angry with his bondmate evaporated.

Starscream took a step back from him. “I’m in no mood, Warp.”

Skywarp pulled a tense cobalt hand up to his mouth and ran his tongue slowly along the palm. “Mmm… I am. I’ve been in the mood all fragging day!” 

“I am _not_ ,” Starscream snapped, and began trying to tug his hand away from his mate’s grasp. 

Skywarp made a whining noise, his chest aching at the thought of his bondmate pulling away. “Please, Star,” he whispered heatedly, “my spark is _burning_.” 

“You’re so disobedient,” Starscream said softly.

Skywarp smiled slightly, and nuzzled gently against the hand that he still held an unwilling captive. Starscream’s lowered voice gave him away as far as Skywarp was concerned. “So command me.” 

Starscream snarled, and jerked his hand away angrily. “Don’t touch me.” His voice was a low rasp, and he glared down at his hand as though it had betrayed him before taking another step away from Skywarp. 

Skywarp shivered, but remained still, a small amount of irritation seeping back into his processors. For the first time ever, he cursed the bond’s desire for completion. He’d never imagined that his bondmate would deny him. That he _could_ deny him. Then Starscream’s mouth was moving over his, and the rest stopped mattering so much. He slid his hands up to scrape appreciatively along a canopy seam, humming his approval into the mouth that clasped his bottom lip possessively. 

Skywarp received a shock when Starscream stepped back from him, delivering a heavy, stinging slap to the tip of his wing. 

“Oww! _Slag_! That _hurt_!” Skywarp yelped, head jerking as his chin was caught by strong blue fingers. 

Starscream stared at him intently, his optics hard. “I didn’t say that you were allowed to touch, did I? In fact, I ordered you _not_ to touch.” 

Skywarp stared back in confusion for a few moments, the sting in his wing making his entire back ache with residual sensor readings. “Frag, Star. You didn’t have t-”

The hand let go of his chin just long enough to give his cheek a lightly stinging slap. Skywarp’s optics shut automatically at the impact, his face turning away in reflex, a shiver further confusing his sensory systems as lips pressed softly against his audial. “I didn’t say you could speak, either.” 

Those lips trailed lazily across Skywarp’s cheek, brushed over closed optics and drifted to the other audial. Starscream’s hand had returned to his chin and turned his head. “Obedience has its rewards.” 

A low moan slipped free. “Star-” he began in a whisper.

The slap was a little heavier this time, and Skywarp jerked in surprise.

“Disobedience will be punished,” Starscream murmured, tone low and smooth.

Skywarp opened his optics and stared in shock at his bonded. He remained stiff and silent as Starscream’s lips trailed down to his neck and a hot tongue slithered over the thick cables. He bit back a moan of pleasure, and fought the nearly inescapable desire to reach up and pull his lover tightly against him.

Starscream pulled back, wearing a decidedly sexy little smirk. “So you can obey,” he mused. 

The bond was still being blocked, but Skywarp thought he caught the ghost of playful amusement from his mate. There was something darker there too, but he brushed it off. This was Starscream after all. His choices suddenly became crystal clear. Obey and get to merge himself silly with his beloved bondmate, or disobey and probably slag the moody seeker off enough that he would fly away and leave Skywarp unfulfilled.

Skywarp slowly lowered his gaze. It was unmistakably submissive, and he fought the urge to look back up at Starscream’s soft chuckle. The hand left his face and stroked lightly down over his chest and out past his shoulder. It trailed lazily along the top edge of his right wing, out and then back in as Starscream walked around behind him. Skywarp shivered involuntarily as teasing fingers slipped down to his wing hinges. It was such a light touch, it would have tickled had he not been so aroused.

Warm air gusted against his left audial, and Skywarp fisted his hands to keep from reaching back and pulling his mate’s mouth against him.

“Will you obey my every command?” Skywarp remained quiet as ordered. A warm kiss was pressed to his neck. “You may answer when I ask you direct questions.”

“Yes.” Skywarp was surprised when the word came out as a breathy whisper.

Hands caressed the back panels of Skywarp’s wings and he arched helplessly into the touch. Those same hands flowed to his left as Starscream finished his circuit around Skywarp’s body. His optics had squeezed shut at some point as he struggled to control himself.

“To whom do you belong?”

Skywarp opened his optics, panting as Starscream’s warmth caressed him with a life of its own. “You.” He wanted to say Thundercracker too, but a hot mouth captured his, and once again all other cares dropped away.

Talented fingers wormed their way into the side seams of Skywarp’s armor and tangled deliciously with sensitive wires, sending little shocks straight to his spark. He whimpered, body beginning to tremble as he fought to restrain himself. He wasn’t used to such things. It wasn’t in his nature to deny himself pleasure and right now pleasure would be making Starscream writhe against him.

Skywarp pushed his face harder against his mate’s, head tilting more, deepening their kiss with a low moan. He shoved at the mental blocks Starscream had erected to lock him out. They held, and another whine escaped his vocalizer as their kiss became ravenous. It was all Skywarp knew he was allowed, and he very much feared that he would extinguish and cease to be if he did the wrong thing and caused Starscream to walk away.

He forced all his want and desire into the kiss, tongue thrusting and stroking the hot cavern of Starscream’s mouth. Fists clenched until the servos creaked from the pressure. His mate’s hands caressed his sides, and cobalt soothed over purple in an attempt to calm him. Skywarp tangled his fingers with Starscream’s, palm to palm, and was shocked by how erotic that simple touch had become.

“Beg,” Starscream ordered.

“Primus, Star! Please! Anything you want. Just- I’m yours. Just- Ohh… _please_!” Skywarp whispered and moaned the words in a broken, impassioned plea against Starscream’s lips.

Skywarp’s optics shot wide as Starscream’s leg caught behind his ankle and they fell. The rough ground scraped against his wings and added a different sensation to his buzzing circuits. Starscream forced their locked hands above Skywarp’s head, using his body to pin down and dominate him. His bottom lip was bit, then sucked gently, and he relaxed under the new assault.

Starscream was uncharacteristically silent above him as he nipped and licked his way over Skywarp’s face and throat. In contrast, Skywarp could not stop the whimpers, whines, and moans of pleasure. He sunk into the sensations, fingers curled tightly with his mate’s to prevent him from breaking contact. Words poured forth as he mindlessly obeyed Starscream’s last command.

Spark energy thrust sharply into him, and Skywarp shouted as he sent an answering pulse. His entire being cried out in relief as their sparks touched. The barriers fell away and Skywarp felt his bondmate’s need as keenly as his own. Their lips crashed back together, and he pulled his legs up to wrap around Starscream’s, arching his back and pleading.

Anything.

Anything to hold his lover closer.

Anything to keep this blinding ecstasy from ending.

Anything if it meant he’d hear Starscream whisper his name like that again.

The universe shattered, and their screams echoed off the mountain peaks. Skywarp lay limply under the comforting weight of his bonded. Starscream had flopped over him and their respirations rasped in the still and silent air.

 _Obedience does have its rewards,_ Skywarp thought, then carefully shielded any further thoughts from Starscream as he chuckled against his throat.

Now, if he could just convince his mate that the same held true as far as Megatron was concerned, life might be a little less stressful for them. He resolved to try. There was no reason for the bickering and baiting when simply following an order would keep the peace.

Skywarp sighed, and brushed away that train of thought. It was too serious for the moment. He untangled his fingers from Starscream’s and let his hands stroke lovingly over the warm lines of his mate’s body. Given Megatron’s mood, he should probably keep his mate busy for a few more cycles before heading home. 

“Let’s go fly,” Skywarp whispered, and nuzzled at Starscream’s cheek with his own. “We can shred the clouds. Chase the horizon.” He felt Starscream smile and relaxed further. They really just needed some time out of that claustrophobia-inducing ship they lived in. Things would be better too, once Thundercracker returned. Then Starscream would see that their leader really did know what he was doing.


	13. Chapter 13

The evening found the common room bustling with activity. Bluestreak retrieved his energon ration, and looked around the crowded room. A freshly repaired Beachcomber waved him over, and he headed toward the sizable group in the corner. It only took him a moment to pick up the thread of the conversation.

“Yeah well, I still can’t believe how good Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp were flying,” Bumblebee said. “Don’t know how Hide and the twins managed with only a couple injuries with those seekers focusing on them so much at the power plant.”

“Well, I’m sure it has something to do with their bond, right?” Bluestreak said. Half a dozen sets of blue optics faced him in utter silence. “I mean… Well, Ironhide said that Thundercracker’s bonded, and you all know how good Sunny and Sides fight together, and that their bond helps them and all.” There was a slight pause as he looked around at his companions. “I wonder which one he’s bonded to? It’d be like one of his wingmates, doncha think? I mean it wouldn’t make much sense if he was bonded to someone else, and since when do flyers like anyone other than other flyers?”

Having heard their names as they entered, the two frontliners moved to join the group. Sideswipe leaned an elbow on Bluestreak’s shoulder and grinned as the gunner glanced up at him.

“Hide said you were the one who figured out Thundercracker was bonded, right, Sides? Ya think it’s one of his wingmates?”

“Would almost have to be,” Sideswipe answered.

“As far as ‘Cons go, I guess old Thundercracker ain’t _so_ bad, but who would he want to bond with, and why?” Hound asked.

Optic ridge rising in slight disdain, Mirage answered him. “Bonds are formed by love.”

“Deceptiscum don't love anything but themselves. Bet that skidplate kissing commander of theirs ordered him to do it!” Cliffjumper stated loudly.

“That’s disgusting!” Mirage snapped, face reflecting just how offensive he found the idea.

“Bonds can’t be forced, can they?” Bumblebee asked with wide optics. Bluestreak looked up at Sideswipe, mouth opening to speak.

Once again it was Mirage who answered. “No. And he,” the spy jerked his thumb in Cliffjumper’s direction, “ _knows_ that. Whoever Thundercracker is bonded to, he loves him, and is loved in return. It wouldn’t be a bond otherwise.”

“Whatever!” Cliffjumper scoffed.

“Gone are the glory days, man,” Beachcomber sighed wistfully. “During the Golden Age, used to be a mech was just a mech. No factions, no war. Peace and love, man. Peace and love.”

Huffer snorted. “Those military models were a problem even in the Golden Age!”

“So you’re sure bonds can’t be forced?”

“Don’t worry, Little Blue.” Sideswipe smiled down at the younger Autobot. “You really can't force another spark into a bond. I imagine one could _attempt_ it, but it’d fail. Bonds have to be willingly made.”

“Who would Thundercracker love though?” Bumblebee asked, and Huffer scoffed at the idea of Decepticon love.

Sunstreaker’s processor was speeding. _Yes who?_ he wondered. It’d be so easy to take the seeker down if he could figure out which of his trine mates he’d bonded to. “Well,” he said at length, “it’d have to be one of his wingmates. We all agree they were flying better last night.”

“Could be Skywarp,” Sideswipe said distractedly.

“Yeah ‘cause old Screamer’s already the best flyer. If those two bonded, then maybe they’d be able to keep up finally,” Hound said. He held up his hands to ward off the sudden cacophony of protests and shouts of dissent. “I know, I know, but listen! He _is_ a good flyer. Yeah, he’s nuts and the biggest jerk this side of the Pits, but ya gotta admit he can outfly anyone else we’ve ever seen. When Starscream’s on his game, he’s pretty dangerous. I’m rather glad he’s crazy. If he were sane, he’d be lethal.”

“All Decepticons are crazy. It’s a prerequisite.” Laughter rose after Mirage’s muttered comment.

“Ain’t that the truth!” Cliffjumper jeered. “And I’m not sure who’s more loony, Megatron or his glitch, Starscream!”

“Well man, there was no Thundercracker today. Just Starscream and Skywarp and they were flying pretty good together,” Beachcomber added. “Hard to tell really, but the other jets seemed normal. Ramjet didn’t crash into anything.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, well, Thundercracker’s the weakest flier of their trine anyways. Never does any of the crazy slag those other two do,” Huffer told them. “Just to be close to equal, he’d have to be bonded to Screamer. My vote’s on him.”

“Skywarp,” Beachcomber called over the smattering of raucous laughter. “It’s a sad thing, man, but I don’t think there’s any love left in Starscream.”

“Star-spaz.” Huffer guffawed at his own joke.

“How about just Spaz?” Sideswipe snickered.

“I also vote Skywarp,” Mirage added, joining in so no one would suspect the truth. “But for a different reason. It wasn’t so very long ago that Starscream was brought here after being raped. Once sparkbonded, I do believe,” he looked up at Sunstreaker and Sideswipe for confirmation, “that both bondmates must be present for the sparks to merge.”

Sunstreaker nodded, and Sideswipe added his own opinion. “True. But we also know he was drugged. Who knows what _that_ slag did? I’m of half the mind that it is Screamer. Both his wingmates were all over him. And if we've gotta be totally honest about it… Then yeah, Thundercracker is definitely the more...” he searched for the right word, “caring? I guess? Of their group. My vote’s on Starscream, and that it happened after Ratchet fixed ‘im up.”

“Hey, Jack!” Hound suddenly called out, and Wheeljack walked over, a cube of energon in his hand. “How are the humans from the plant? Any word?”

Head fins blinked sadly as Wheeljack shook his head. “No one made it. If they were outside when that tower busted, they were pretty much doomed. Gover’ment’s all over Prime ‘bout it too. Hospital staff tried, but humans’re just so frail when it comes ta radiation in that high a quantity. Perceptor and I’re workin’ on somethin’ ta help clean up the area.” He seemed to run out of steam there, and drifted away and out of the loud common room without even waving goodbye.

“Poor Jack,” Bluestreak whispered.

“Poor humans, you mean,” Hound corrected. “That hadda been a rough way to go. The ones we took to the hospital were in lots of pain.”

“Yeah,” Bumblebee agreed.

 _Come to with me to our berth_ , Sideswipe said suddenly through the bond.

Sunstreaker looked at his twin and nodded. He barely noticed as Sideswipe bid everyone goodnight. His gears were still turning, and he couldn’t wait until the next battle. He’d find out which seeker Thundercracker was bonded to, and then he’d make both of them sorry that he was still stuck on night patrol.

Fraggitall! _I won’t have much time_ , Sunstreaker warned as Sideswipe entered the code to their room.

_I know. I just want you to lay with me for a while._

Sunstreaker frowned. It wasn’t like Sideswipe to be so… needy. “We need a diversion,” he said suddenly, as his twin lay down and reached up to pull Sunstreaker onto the berth with him.

“What kind of diversion?”

“The challenging and fun kind. Who would be tough to seduce?”

Sideswipe snickered. “Prime?” He laughed outright as his brother shuddered in revulsion, the emotion thick enough to echo through the bond. “You asked who would be tough, not who we’d want.”

“You’re twisted.”

Sideswipe could feel his twin’s amusement though. “Hmmm. We’ll figure it out in the morning. I want just us tonight.” He leaned in and kissed Sunstrekaer before snuggling against his frame and relaxing.

Sunstreaker traced lines across his twin’s plating, and held him until he dropped into recharge. He was slightly late for his shift, and Prowl stood waiting.

“You are late.”

“So I noticed,” Sunstreaker snapped, and without pausing, folded easily into his alt form and pealed out. Battle. Yes, definitely. It would be great to just shoot something. A little jet judo would be nice too. Sink his fists into those damn seekers. Break a cockpit or three. He knew it wouldn’t go over well to pummel a fellow Autobot. Prime frowned on that, so he’d just have to wait.

~ | ~

Misfire glared around the room and shuddered in distaste. How Thundercracker could just lie down and cycle into recharge in such a filthy, disgusting, _rusted_ environment he didn’t know. He shivered again, and decided that there was no way he could recharge right now.

He slipped out the door, wincing a little and glancing back at his companion as it squealed shut. Misfire waited a moment, but Thundercracker didn’t comm him, so he looked up and down the hall, and decided to head to the right.

It was surprisingly quiet for not being all that late in the rotation. On Earth, the Decepticons were usually pretty active until the night shift. Of course, rotations were different from Earth days, being half again as long. In truth, the Earth crew had things pretty easy. For convenience, schedules had been shifted to the faster rotation of the organic planet. Three main shifts with the night shift being the bare minimum needed, meaning monitor or custodial duties. Recharge came around more often, mostly to help conserve the need for energon. More frequent recharge cycles meant less energy intake requirements.

Misfire let his thoughts continue to wander as he turned this or that corner. The _Nemesis_ was a _lot_ cleaner too. Didn’t Thunderwing care about his base? Primus! How many times had Megatron said they _would_ have a clean base because they were _not_ pathetic gutter dwellers and their home had _better_ reflect that fact? Considering his old wingmates were on cleaning detail for two thirds of an entire Earth solar circuit, and the frequency that scrubbing the ship was used as punishment if brig time wasn’t completely warranted, the boss really believed that and would be furious with the state of one of his outposts.

A warning flashed on Misfire’s HUD. He was getting low on energy and should supplement soon. Thundercracker had instructed him to bring whatever rations he could just in case, so Misfire had four small cubes in his subspace, but looking around, he wasn’t sure he wanted to advertise that fact. Who knew what these mechs -if there were more mechs than the bored voice, Thunderwing, and Sunstorm even in the place- were consuming?

He glanced around, looking at the three hallways leading off from the intersection he stood in the middle of. _Slag. I think I’m lost._ Misfire turned slowly, trying to find anything familiar in the rust-tainted wall panels. _This place is gonna need torn down and rebuilt from scratch when we return._

Misfire shrugged, and picked the left branch from where he stood, utterly unsure if that was the hall he’d come from. Voices caught his attention and he followed them. One was a low, rough rumble, too soft to pick out the words, but sounding a bit like Thunderwing’s. The other was a little higher in pitch, and as Misfire rounded the corner, he spotted the base commander and another mech. The green and boxy grounder murmured something and Thunderwing turned.

Misfire nearly stepped back from the dark and hateful glare he was given by the big flyer, but remembered Thundercracker’s words and locked himself in place. _Megatron’s elite. I’m Megatron’s elite and a representative of his power. Slag he’s got frelling guns everywhere on him!_

“Are you lost?” Thunderwing growled.

“Actually I am,” Misfire said as calmly as he could, congratulating himself when it came out sounding every bit as unconcerned as he had wanted to. A snort of amusement sounded from the green mech, and Misfire narrowed his optics at him. “I was bored so I figured I’d wander a bit. Got turned around in the halls, they all look the same.” He turned his gaze back to the commander. “Rusted, dirty. Your base could do with a little maintenance.”

That was probably taking things a little too far when he was without backup, but then the Misfire knew he wasn’t the smartest mech. Unfortunately, he always seemed to forget that fact until he’d gone and stuck his foot into trouble.

Thunderwing’s optics narrowed to slits for a moment. “Allow me, then, to help you find your quarters,” he ground out.

Misfire smiled. “That’d be great, thanks.” Deciding he should try a little damage control he added, “If you’re not done with your meeting I can wait.”

Thunderwing’s frown deepened. “How polite,” the commander all but snarled, “but we were finished. Follow me.”

Misfire trailed after Thunderwing, walking fast to keep up with his longer, and seemingly angry, stride. He clamped his jaw shut as the almost overwhelming urge to talk and ask questions gripped him. _Elite. Act like it, not like some overeager youngling_. Misfire slowly cycled a breath, careful to keep it quiet, and ignored the intimidating silence as best he could.

Thunderwing stopped next to a door and turned to glare at him. “It would perhaps be best to not wander.”

Misfire nodded, and hoped his wing blocked the other’s view of the code, though he likely knew it or could learn it. “Thanks again,” he said, and slipped into the small room, sighing in relief as the door squealed shut.

He pulled a cube from his subspace and drank half of it, putting the remainder away for later. Misfire sighed in disgust and gingerly lay down with his back to Thundercracker’s, careful to not touch the decaying metal of the berth. He hoped the elder seeker wouldn’t be too peeved with him for his little misadventure, and also that the rain would stop soon. The sooner they got out of here, the better. The whole place gave him the creeps.

~ | ~

Starscream rubbed at his temple as he walked to the conference room, ignoring the others traversing the halls. He was both happy and fretful to have been called from his quarters by Megatron. Glad to escape Skywarp’s whining about his head aching too, and worried just what punishment his darling leader had in store for him. He felt a nudge against the barriers between his and his mate’s minds.

 _I really have no interest in hearing you moaning about your head_ , Starscream snarled.

A slight sigh of relief sounded through the bond. _I won’t. And it feels better with the connection open anyways._

Starscream suddenly stopped walking. _It’s Thundercracker._

_Huh?_

_It’s because Thundercracker’s so far away, it’s distressing our bond being forced into separation like this._ Starscream let out a hiss of anger, and continued to the meeting. _This is all Megatron’s fault! He’s trying to break our bond himself!_

 _That’s not possible, Star, stop glitching_. Skywarp’s own anger was rising through the bond.

_Don’t start with me, or I’ll lock you out regardless of how much it makes my processors throb!_

_You’re such a paranoid little freak, ya know that?_

Starscream clamped down on the bond, blocking his irritating mate out, and wincing as the throb in his head increased again. He keyed open the door and entered. Megatron sat at the head of the table in his customary spot, feet up and leaning back in his chair reading a datapad. Starscream almost turned and ran back out the door. If his leader looked that relaxed, it could only mean that he was very happy with whatever punishment he’d decided on for the seeker.

His retreat was cut off however by Soundwave’s appearance, and as the telepath stepped into the conference room and slipped past Starscream’s wing, the door shut.

“We’re going to attack this facility,” Megatron said, and tossed the datapad to Soundwave. The telepath glanced at it, then handed it to Starscream. “It’s a research compound for,” the tyrant chuckled derisively, “advanced technologies. Starscream, you will bring Skywarp, Thrust, and Ramjet as guards and to keep the natives in line. Soundwave, choose whichever of your creations is functional and bring him to hack the computers. I want their data on hydrogen usage as a fuel. Have them energize for the long flight, we leave in two breems.

“Thrust and Ramjet were due to relieve Slugslinger and Triggerhappy at the space bridge,” Starscream said, more out of curiosity to how the warlord would respond than any concern over the other seekers.

“I’ve already sent the Battlechargers and the remaining Stunticons to the gate, with orders for the six of them to hold there until I notify them otherwise,” Megatron said. Starscream was beginning to feel rather… well, there was no other term for it. The tyrant’s suddenly calm behavior was freaking him out. A black hand raised, palm upwards and stayed there. Starscream stared. “Give me the datapad, Starscream.” Megatron spoke slowly, an amused smirk playing on his lips.

Starscream hesitantly stepped forward, leaning to place the device in his leader’s out-stretched hand.

“Now both of you get out of my sight.”

Starscream didn’t need to be told twice. He spun and left, Soundwave following more sedately in his wake. What in the universe had suddenly gotten into the maniac? He shook it off, opening the bond with Skywarp, and radioing the other two seekers to meet him at the lift. Megatron in a seemingly good mood was unpredictable at best. Starscream would have to behave for now.

 _That’ll be a nice change,_ Skywarp snarked.

Starscream snarled, and slammed the bond shut, grunting in pain and hoping it hurt his jerk of a mate just as much.

~ | ~

“Prime. Sir,” Red Alert called, as he hurried up the corridor to catch up with Optimus. “Sir, I discovered something.”

“What have you discovered, Red Alert?” Prime asked, trying to hold on to his patience. After his last conversation with the human liaison, all he wanted was to go and rest his aching head in his hopefully quiet office.

“There was an energy surge yesterday at oh seven, sixteen. It took me a while to get a fix on the location, and determine what it could be.”

“And that would be?”

“I believe the Decepticons activated a space bridge.”

That took Optimus aback. “How did they manage to build another without our knowledge?”

“I don’t know, sir. Perhaps we could discuss a few global security-”

“Not right now. Right now we need to deal with this new space bridge.” He commed Prowl. “Prime to Prowl.”

“Prowl here.”

“Meet me in my office, Red Alert has discovered a new space bridge.”

“Acknowledged.”

Optimus closed the link, and focused back on his Security Officer. “Do you have your reports with you?”

“Of course,” Red Alert said, his tone indicating just how ridiculous the idea of him not being prepared was.

Prime nodded and turned, leading the way to his office. Prowl was just arriving, and the three entered together. Red Alert presented his findings and a topographical map of the area.

“That is a rather large area,” Prowl commented.

“It’s an approximate area. I caught the signal purely by accident.” Red Alert actually ducked his head a little, as though embarrassed it hadn’t been his intention all along. “It was short, the burst only lasting a few nanokliks before dissipating after I found it. If we had a stronger sensor net I might have been able to detect it sooner with a more exact location.”

“We can send Mirage. He’s fast, and would be best suited for getting past any Decepticon defenses,” Prime decided. He turned from the map to Prowl.

"Even at speed, it will take him a full day to drive there," Prowl said.

"Skyfire could fly him," Red Alert suggested, but Prowl was already shaking his head.

"Skyfire would certainly be faster, but also far more obvious. We have an opportunity to strike decisively against the Decepticons." He faced Optimus again. "Send Mirage, invisible and at top speed. When he locates the bridge, we can take a full contingent inside of Skyfire, using Hound's holograms as a disguise to get within range. Then we destroy the space bridge and hopefully thwart whatever Megatron's newest plan is."

Prime pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing wearily, before nodding. "We must stop Megatron."

Prowl nodded once, sharply. “I will notify Mirage immediately."

Optimus nodded, and looked back at the map. “Just what are they up to?” he wondered aloud, as his Second commed the spy.


	14. Chapter 14

Rumble wasn’t generally the nervous type, but today was different. They were attacking the humans in broad daylight. Not unheard of, but it rarely had a positive outcome. His twin and brother were still dying in the medbay. Megatron’s recent behavior was strange and even more unpredictable than usual. And now Megatron was watching Rumble trying to hack into the humans’ computers in the middle of a torn up building to get information the Constructicons should be able to figure out for themselves.

‘Trying’ being the operative word there as he nervously slogged through lines and lines of alien code that made only the tiniest bit of sense to him.

_Focus,_ Soundwave said.

_I am!_ Rumble snapped back.

Around them the screams and shouts had finally stopped. Rumble didn’t really care about the humans, but their burnt bodies sure stank. He wished Thrust had vaporized them the way Skywarp had. Sure the higher setting on the plasma blaster used up more energy, but at least it didn’t leave smoldering meat smoking where he had to work.

“ _Rumble_!” The telepath’s shout was both mental and verbal. And too late.

A human had darted out of hiding, a sparking cable in its hands, and jammed that live end into the console where Rumble had plugged in to interface directly with the systems.

Soundwave was moving, horror at another of his creations being injured spurring him on. Rumble was grasped with both hands around his middle and jerked away from the overloading console, body rigid and mind screaming in pain. There was a sharp cry, and the telepath felt the linking cable snap as though it had been a part of his own body.

“Slag me,” Rumble moaned, and hung limply in Soundwave’s arms. “Wrong kinda overload.”

Thrust snickered as he swept the human up from where it had run. “Left behind your plug too.”

“Why bother pluggin’ in when sparks are more fun anyways?”

“What happened?!” Starscream demanded impatiently as he stormed into the facility.

Soundwave carefully set his creation down, relieved when Rumble managed to stand steadily. He held his hand out to Thrust wordlessly. A dark chuckle sounded from behind, and the telepath tensed.

“Fools. It’s a miracle any of you continue to function,” Megatron said. “Rumble! Did you get the information?”

Rumble cringed. “Some,” then continued in a rush. “I’m better at blowin’ stuff up. Frenzy’s the computer specialist. I’d’a gotten it all though if that squishy hadn’t fried everything.”

“Silence!” Megatron turned to stare at the human where the puny thing cowered in Thrust’s fist. It remained silent. No pleas for mercy, no threats of the Autobots coming to save it. He found himself marginally impressed despite himself. This miniscule creature had waited for the opportunity to thwart them, and then taken it. It had to have known once it gave away its position, its life was forfeit. He batted aside Soundwave’s waiting hand. “You,” Megatron growled at the human, “have inconvenienced me.”

“That was the idea,” the human said. A bold thing to say too, with its voice shaking and fear so obvious.

Megatron took a moment to look the creature over. A male he thought, with the same white fabric adornment on the upper body that a number of the destroyed humans had worn. He gave his own mechs a quick glance, optics landing on his frowning Second in Command. “You are what passes as a scientist for your kind?” The human nodded. “Very well. Thrust, bring it. He can help Starscream with the plans for the hydrogen converter.”

There was a beat of silence, then. “What?!” Starscream shrieked. “I don’t-” Starscream’s head whipped around to face Skywarp, who shrugged, but his optics were alight with something almost malicious.

Megatron grinned to himself, and turned away. “To base, Decepticons.”

“Uhh… Megatron… sir... How do I…?”

Megatron growled, and glared back at Thrust. “Maybe in your cockpit, you moron?”

Red optics blinked, and Thrust managed a nod before quickly handing the human to a reluctant Ramjet, and transforming. Megatron launched into the air, and was followed instantly by a still furious, yet oddly silent Starscream, then Skywarp. Soundwave collected Rumble and left with one more look toward Ramjet’s prisoner.

Thrust cringed down as his trinemate lowered the flesh creature into his waiting cockpit. “Just… don’t… leak anything onto me, or I’ll take the boss’s beating and dump you in the ocean. Got it?”

The human nodded, and reached for the seat straps.

“And don’t touch _anything_! Don’t move! Primus! Why do I have to carry the gross squishy inside me?!”

“Oh, stop whining and let’s go,” Ramjet said. Thrust taxied and launched, his wingmate easily catching up and transforming as well. “Don’t go too fast or too high. I think that kills fleshies.”

“I hate my life,” Thrust moaned, wanting to slap Ramjet with his wing, but not daring to risk it for fear of what might come out of the human if he frightened it too much or made it sick.

There was a snort from the human. “You hate _your_ life?” the little creature sneered, but the bravado quickly failed. “What’s going to happen to me?” he whispered.

“I dunno.” Thrust didn’t particularly care either. He just wanted it out of him. “Once we land, you’re Screamer’s problem. Better hope Soundwave decides to keep up with his loyalty to the boss too. Electrocuting Rumble like that wasn’t real smart.”

~ | ~

By the time they reached the base, Starscream had blocked Skywarp out yet again and his processors were aching. He just _knew_ his mate had gone and worked himself up into a fit, too. Skywarp didn’t question Megatron’s motives. Wasn’t the whole point of going to steal the humans’ information so they could make the converter work better? Gross as it was, wouldn’t actually having a human around be even better?

Starscream snorted in derision, surprising Skywarp by widening the bond. _Most likely we’ll be dealing with a disgusting mess. Humans can’t take the same pressure changes we can. He’ll implode before we get half way down to the base._

Giving his bondmate a little grin, Skywarp faced Megatron. “Sir? Won’t the pressure change crush the squishy and kill him?” Thrust squeaked and shoved the creature into Skywarp’s hands. He chuckled and stroked his fingers over the human’s head and back. “Can I keep it? When it’s not busy, I mean.”

“No!” Starscream snapped, and tried to snatch the human from his mate’s hands. Skywarp dodged only to have Megatron pluck the thing out of his grasp. “This is a waste of time! We don’t need it. Just how do you plan to even keep it alive?!”

Megatron glared, holding the hostage out toward Soundwave, snorting dismissively. “You and Soundwave will listen to what the flesh creature says and integrate it with the Constructicons’ plans. See to it that it lives, or you will both suffer,” he threatened as he entered the lift.

Soundwave stared at the human as it huddled in his hands, shaking in fear and from the rough handling. He’d radioed down to the Command Center and the main parts of the base were already being repressurized to match surface conditions. The rest of the ship would follow over time. He could program the lift himself, and moved to follow Megatron, none too happy about this new development. They didn’t need the human, so why had it been brought along? Soundwave probed subtly at Megatron’s mind, easing past the mental barriers. He shuddered with distaste at what he found, Megatron fairly basked in sadistic satisfaction at having irritated Starscream.

So that was what this was about.

Starscream huffed, and pushed Skywarp ahead of him into the lift. “I want nothing to do with it. It is _not_ staying in _my_ quarters. Besides,” he sneered at the telepath, “who would know better how to care for a pet than a pet?”

Soundwave silently snarled at the seeker’s back, but it wouldn’t do to begin an argument now. He could still feel Megatron’s pleasure in this, and Soundwave refused to add to that by showing how irritated he was. He entered the lift, ignoring everyone else, and punched in the commands to keep the door open while he carefully completed the needed modifications. He did not want the organic thing imploding in his hands. Primus, that would be a mess to clean out of his joints.

“Rumble. Laserbeak. Eject.” _You know enough about humans. Go, and get what we’ll need to keep him functioning. Be cautious. Avoid discovery at all costs._ Soundwave watched his creations take off, then keyed in the command for the lift to descend. 

He turned his gaze to the human in his hands, watching for signs of possible damage. The creature stared back, eyes wide, arms wrapped around his knees and hugged close to his body, but showed no signs of pain. Within the lift, Soundwave monitored the continued even pressure with his own sensors.

The lift doors finally opened, and a whoosh of air rushed in proving the base was still at a higher pressure than the surface. Starscream snickered maliciously as Soundwave stretched his arms out quickly, obviously expecting the human to implode. The seeker had been monitoring the pressure himself, and knew it would be uncomfortable for the human to suffer such a quick change, but it was not enough to significantly damage it.

Hoping to get away from both his irritating mate and unpredictable leader, Starscream stomped past the telepath, calling over his shoulder, “Come along, let’s see if you can be of any use. And don’t drop the human.”

“You better hope Soundwave doesn’t decide to sell us out with you being such an aft-headed glitch to him,” Skywarp sent through their trine comm.

Starscream ignored him and continued to the lab, knowing the irritated telepath followed.

In the lab, Soundwave set the human down on a work table, and up-linked to the computer console. “Rumble’s information,” he intoned. Once the very little bit of gathered data was uploaded he faced down to the little human. “You will complete it.”

The human looked up at the console disbelievingly, mouth opening and closing a few times as he tried to find words in the midst of his own shock. “This research was compiled by an entire _team_! It took years to perfect even to the incomplete stage we had it at! You can’t expect me to-”

“I _expect_ you to be useful,” Starscream countered, sounding sadistically pleased as he leveled a gun at the small scientist’s form, and smirking as he watched the human lift his arms to guard himself in fear. “If you _aren’t_ useful, then we have no need of you.”

The man nodded slowly, shoulders slumping in defeat.

They had to reprogram one of the smaller datapads to the human’s language, but once that was done it worked quietly and diligently for a few cycles. Soundwave watched the little creature as its movements began to slow, and put the finishing touches on his own project.

The cage was set firmly on the table behind the human, and Soundwave sent the signal to open the door, one only he would be able to send, and built like the security locks on his personal quarters and private lab. “Enter,” Soundwave commanded when the human jumped and spun to see what the loud bang had been.

“A cage?”

Starscream snorted, and saved the files for transfer to the Constructicons. “Animals belong in cages.” He finished his tasks and cleared up the lab. The only redeeming quality Starscream had was that he maintained an orderly workstation, Soundwave thought sourly.

The human’s posture seemed to slump even more, but he obeyed Soundwave’s order and entered the cage, sitting in the small space that was only just tall enough for him to stand in and wide enough to lay down. The signal was sent again, and the barred door slid shut and beeped as it locked.

Soundwave had turned away from it to follow Starscream to the door when the seeker stopped and looked back with an overly innocent expression. “The lab is not a secure location, Soundwave. Wouldn’t it be a shame if one of our rowdier comrades did harm to your new charge?”

Soundwave glared at the seeker’s back from behind his visor as Starscream strutted down the corridor. He turned back, and hauled the small cage with him to his quarters. He was furious over this, but it would do no good to argue. The human would be safest in his room, and he needed to get to the medbay to check on his creations. The last thing Soundwave needed was to have Megatron punish him for letting the creature be damaged or deactivated.

Ignoring the fleshling’s questions about its fuel requirements, Soundwave shoved the cage onto an empty spot on the desk and released Buzzsaw. _Guard it. Do not torment it. Call me immediately if it is threatened._

_Yes, Creator._

Soundwave hurried back out, anxious, and now able to feel Ravage was conscious and in pain again.

~ | ~

Thundercracker sat up and groaned, clutching his head as the dull throb momentarily intensified. “Slag.”

“S’wrong?” Misfire slurred as he woke and rolled over.

“Processors feel like Sideswipe’s inside my head and using his pile drivers.”

“You overcharge last night?”

“Are you insane?” Thundercracker demanded, turning to face the younger Decepticon. “No, I did not get overcharged last night. Primus, Misfire.”

“Sorry,” Misfire said. “So why’s your head hurt?”

Thundercracker sighed, and pulled a cube from his subspace, sipping it slowly. _Probably because I had to share a rusty berth with a glitchy youngling instead of my bondma-_ Thundercracker paused with the energon half way to his mouth. _Slag me. It’s because of my bondmates._

“TC? You ok?”

“Yeah. Fine. And don’t call me that,” Thundercracker said, and put away the half-finished energon cube. “You need to charge up.”

“Oh, I did last night when I got back. I was pretty low.”

“Got back? Primus, Misfire what the frag did you do now?”

Misfire hunched in on himself. “Got lost a little and ran into Thunderwing. He’s frelling scary, Tee- Thundercracker. Like for real. Rushed me back here, and practically told me not to wander around anymore.”

Thundercracker considered for a moment. “He did?” Misfire nodded. “Did he question you at all? What did you say?”

“No. He just seemed mad that I was out of our room here, and brought me back.” Misfire shrugged. “Thought he was gonna beat me or shoot me for a minute he looked so angry, but then he didn’t.”

Well now, that was interesting. What the slag was the base commander up to that he’d feel threatened with dense little Misfire just walking around the base? “Come on. Let’s find out-” Thundercracker was interrupted by the door chiming. He rose and keyed the door open to be greeted by that blindingly gold seeker from the day before.

“May I come in?” Sunstorm asked. Thundercracker stepped back and motioned the him in. Sunstorm frowned around at the room. “I apologize for not coming back last night. I was assigned a guard post unexpectedly.” Two pale energon cubes were removed from the youngling’s subspace and held out to Thundercracker, who took them and passed one on to Misfire with a nod of thanks.

“I also apologize for these… accommodations.” Sunstorm glared at the single berth as though the room’s condition was its fault.

“We’ll manage,” Thundercracker said as he sipped the bland energon. It was such a low grade he’d be able to finish the entire cube without risking becoming overcharged. “Did the rains stop?”

“No, I’m afraid not, and it shows no signs of letting up yet either.”

“Slag. Guess we have a boring day of waiting then,” Misfire said, and flopped back on the berth to stare at the ceiling.

“The one benefit of the rain is that there is very little for anyone to do,” Sunstorm told them. “I have the rotation free. Will you tell me of Earth?” Thundercracker watched the golden optics brighten in excitement. “What’s it like working so close with Lord Megatron? Are we any closer to crushing the Autobots once and for all?”

Misfire had opened his mouth to speak, but Thundercracker quickly cut across him. “Better question is, what is there to do here to pass the time?”

Sunstorm frowned a bit, clearly disappointed, but gave a slow shrug. “Beyond the pit matches, nothing. I’ve exhausted the pathetic library a hundred times over and can assure you there are no files worth reading there unless you want to fall back into recharge.”

“Then why have you read them all so many times?” Misfire chuckled.

Smiling, the yellow seeker answered, “I’m a bit of an insomniac.”

“What are the pit matches you mentioned?” Thundercracker asked.

The youngling’s smile faded away to a frown of distaste. “Empties. Thunderwing keeps Empties, and on rainy days he’ll feed them the neutrals we’ve caught within our borders.”

Misfire jerked upright, and Thundercracker growled, “Feed them?”

“Come,” Sunstorm said, and moved to open the door. “I should put in an appearance anyway so the others don’t begin mocking me over it again.”

That left Thundercracker’s optic ridge arching up. He motioned to Misfire to follow as well, and trailed after the bright yellow seeker. They walked in silence, the corridors twisting and turning until Thundercracker wasn’t sure he could find his way back to their quarters.

Sunstorm stopped before a set of double doors, and glanced around behind them at the hall. Beyond the door a loud cheer went up. “A word of advice,” he whispered. “Make no wagers with anyone. Most here don’t have enough collateral, but would bet high in the hopes of taking anything you may have brought with you.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Thundercracker felt his suspicions rising. Just what was this kid trying to accomplish here?

“Because I’ve unfortunately been here long enough to know no one here has anything of any value to a pair of Megatron’s elite guard, and I’d rather you not think I was in on setting you up to be stripped bare. If you wish to gamble then do so,” Sunstorm’s voice took on a distinct sneer for the first time since he learned who he’d brought into Fort Scyk. “Just don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.” Without another word, he spun and shoved open the doors.

They entered a fair sized arena. It was nowhere close to full. In fact, every mech present had a ringside seat with plenty of personal space. Thundercracker stared at the cheering and shouting mechs. Their armor was faded, dented, damaged. Sunstorm stood out, a bright colorful _clean_ beacon in the midst of ill kempt and rough looking mechs.

“Primus,” Misfire breathed.

Thundercracker nodded, and walked after Sunstorm to stand at the rail and stare down into the sunken pit of the ring. Misfire came up on his right, glancing nervously at the large, dirty yellow and green mech that was bellowing curses.

In the ring below was a chilling sight. A rather small ground-based mech was darting and dodging the clumsy, but fast swipes of half a dozen Empties. Thundercracker shivered despite himself, and felt as Misfire moved closer. Empties were usually shuffling, slow things. They’d take advantage of anything with energon flowing through it that was too dumb, or usually stasis locked, to get away, but these Empties were fast. Vicious. They weren’t working together, showed the same lack of intelligence and coordination any other Empty Thundercracker had seen, but they were going after a living, _moving_ target.

“He’s trained them,” Sunstorm whispered as though reading Thundercracker’s thoughts. “He keeps them inside, has our medic fix any critical damage.”

“They turn on each other?” Misfire asked, working himself even closer to Thundercracker under the guise of talking to Sunstorm.

Sunstorm shook his head. “Not in the ring other than to jockey for a feeding position. They all have inhibitor chips installed so Axelgrease can safely handle them, and those keep them from killing each other as well.”

“Who’s Axelgrease?” Thundercracker asked.

“He’s a green ground pounder. Thunderwing’s right hand, and the base administrator. You heard his voice yesterday when I reported in.”

Just then the neutral tripped and the six Empties fell on him. There was a piercing scream, and Thundercracker looked away. To his left, Sunstorm had shut his optics against the sight. A shriek of wrenched metal rent the air and Misfire pressed against his side.

“Primus,” Misfire whimpered.

“Whooo! Yeah!” shouted the mech on Misfire’s right. “Eat him! Filthy fraggin’ neutral! Whatcha get comin’ inta ‘Con territory!” The mech reached out and punched Misfire’s shoulder, all excitement and bloodlust. “Ooo! They’re hungry this rotation! Look at that!” The yellow and green mech looked over at Misfire and grabbed him by the upper arm. “Look! Ya’re missin’ it!”

“Yeah… whoo… die bitch,” Misfire said in a flat and unenthusiastic tone, doing his best to pull away without completely cowering.

The mech paused in his own cheers and stared at Misfire before breaking into a wide grin. “Die bitch? That’s great!” He turned away, releasing Misfire in favor of leaning over the railing and shouting, “Die bitch!” as loud as his vocalizer could manage.

“You’ll have to forgive Stranglehold,” Sunstorm said. “He’s one of the least civilized Fort Scyk boasts, and that’s saying something given the strong competition he has.”

“Not everyone’s a preenin’ little wannabe fop like you, Stormy,” Stranglehold said, surprising Thundercracker that he’d been paying any attention to anything other than the spectacle below. The mech stood up and faced the trio. “And who are you two? New arrivals?”

“Thundercracker and Misfire,” Sunstorm answered for them. “They’re on a mission for Lord Megatron.”

“Oh?” Real interest lit Stranglehold’s optics. “You been on that organic planet with our illustrious leader, eh?”

Again Sunstorm answered before Thundercracker could. “Where else would our Lord Megatron keep his elite warriors, but at his side?” Thundercracker wasn’t sure whether he should try to shut the kid up, or laugh at him.

Stranglehold smirked. “Elite, eh?” He gave Misfire a quick glance and dismissed him, but spent a little longer looking over Thundercracker. “Thundercracker? The same as the Air Commander’s trinemate?”

Thundercracker gave one curt nod in response.

The mech laughed. “Unmaker take ya! How d’ya manage ta stay alive that close to Starscream?” Stranglehold bent double for a moment as he guffawed.

“Unto the trine remain true,” Sunstorm intoned softly.

“Yeah right!” Stranglehold sniggered. “Like you of all seekers follow any kinda code. Ya ain’t even got a trine.” He looked at Thundercracker. “This one fancies himself the next Starscream, but old Thunderwing ain’t gonna let him play none o’ them treason games Screamer did when he was here.” There was another snort of laughter. “Thunderwing still wants his head on a pike.”

Thundercracker pushed away from the rail as another mech was shoved through a door into the ring. He seemed young, energon tears shone bright pink on his white face as he pounded on the door and begged to be let out. “Starscream has that effect on others,” Thundercracker said, and pulled Misfire back with a hand on his upper arm. Below, the Empties had turned and began heading for the neutral almost immediately.

Stranglehold laughed, turning his attention to the new match. This one truly was more of a feeding however. Sunstorm pulled back as well, and motioned Thundercracker to follow him. There was a short sharp cry, but all other sounds were drowned out by the chorus of disappointed howls from the spectators. The door closed on the noise, and Thundercracker inhaled slowly, trying to calm his roiling tanks.

He was bound to have nightmares about Empties now. _Primus! Those things should be annihilated, not fed!_ They were the things of nightmares. Mechs starved into nothing better than zombie vampire creatures. Mindless eating machines that would rip apart anything they could sneak up on so they could drink the energon blood within. They had once been barely more than tales told by sparklings wanting to scare each other silly, but since the war began, they’d become a disturbing reality.

Misfire shuddered, and Thundercracker realized he was still clutching his companion’s arm tightly. He let go, and they shared a look behind Sunstorm’s back, wordlessly acknowledging their disgust.

“Would you like to visit the library, or return to your quarters?” Sunstorm asked, glancing back over his shoulder.

Thundercracker gave a smirk. “Oh, maybe some boring reading would at least pass the time until the rain stops. I don’t think either of us would be particularly entertained by the walls of our room.”

A slight smile tugged at the yellow seeker’s mouth as he turned his head away. “Well, I’ll let you be the judge of that. There are a number of files that would rival watching rust grow for entertainment.”

~ | ~

Rumble entered his family’s quarters, glancing up as Laserbeak dropped his parcel on the desk, then flew to his twin, perching next to Buzzsaw and leaning close. Rumble turned away quickly, located the caged human, and made his way up onto the desk.

“Brought ya some stuff,” he said.

The man sat up and leaned against the bars of the door. “Any food? I’m starving.”

Rumble leaned over the crate he and Laserbeak had filled and pulled out a bag of apples, handing them through to the human. “Those won’t rot right away, right?”

“No, they’ll be fine for a few days,” the man answered quietly.

_How long will it be here?_ Buzzsaw asked.

Shrugging, Rumble began laying out the things they’d taken for the human. Most of it was food he thought would keep. Things in boxes and bags that did not require the heating he and Frenzy had observed so many humans giving their food. _‘Til Dad or Screamer get sick of him. Prob’ly be Screamer killin’ it durin’ one of his fits though._ He pulled out a blanket from the bottom of the crate and gave the cage a thorough look.

It was a simple metal box that Soundwave had laser cut long narrow holes into so that light and air could flow through. None of the openings were wide enough for the human to escape and the lid had been welded on. The only way in or out for the man was the door, and Rumble would recognize his creator’s special locks anywhere.

“Here,” he said, pushing the blanket through the bars.

“Thank you- Um… What’s your name?”

“Rumble,” Rumble answered. “What about you?” He didn’t really care, but at this point he’d take whatever distractions he could to keep his mind off Frenzy and Ravage.

“Oh! Uh… Jeffrey. Mostly though, they just call me Jeff.” Jeffrey took the items as Rumble handed them through the bars and set them aside with no more than a glance. “I… I, um… didn’t hurt you too much with the electricity did I?”

“Do ya actually care?” Rumble asked, giving the man pause. And why would he care? The Decepticons had attacked and killed his people. It was war, and Rumble thought the guy was rather dumb for giving away his position and getting captured, but when you’re attacked, attack back. He watched as Jeff’s mouth moved a little as the human tried to find an answer. “Nevermind. It hurt, but the damage was healed before we even got back here.”

“Oh. Well that’s… good then.”

Rumble smirked. “Actually it is. Soundwave’s feelin’ real protective of us lately.” He hopped off the desk and walked to the recharge berth. “Lights, ten percent.”

_Good recharge, brothers,_ Laserbeak murmured.

_Night._ Rumble lay awake for a long time though, listening to the human shifting around in his cage, and trying to reach past his creator’s blocks. He missed Frenzy.

~ | ~

Mirage crept as silently as he could through the thick trees and heavy undergrowth. _Oh to be able to fly. I think the Decepticons had at least one good idea._ True the root form modifications to become flight capable were painful, and only a sadistic medic or engineer would perform the procedure on the mech masochistic enough to want it, but really, it would be quite handy right now.

Mirage could hear voices ahead and not very far away now. The spy carefully moved aside another sapling, and eased himself gratefully into a clearing. There were six Decepticons, and none of them were happy about guarding the space bridge.

“Why the slag are we still here?” Slugslinger whined, and kicked at the ground. “Me and Trigger should be home recharging.”

“Cleaning, ya mean,” Wildrider giggled.

Triggerhappy and Slugslinger frowned but the other three Decepticons laughed.

“I’ll agree though, that it sucks to be stuck here in this stupid jungle. Primus!” Runamuck swore. “Think it’ll rain again today?”

“It _is_ a rainforest, bro,” Runabout snickered.

Runamuck sighed. “I hate the rain. Makes it all muddy, messes with my finish.”

Breakdown glared up at the sky above the space bridge. “I just wish they’d get back already.”

“If wishes were fishes,” Wildrider giggled again, and bent to pick up a small branch, then cocked his arm back and flung it into the deep green canopy of the trees. Wildlife screeched and chattered angry protests, and Mirage cringed, hoping nothing fell on him and gave away his position.

“If wishes were fishes?” Triggerhappy asked, voice laced with contempt. “You Earth-born are morons.” 

Wildrider stuck out his tongue and threw a new branch at the jet. Breakdown frowned but remained silent.

“ _Ghost to Base, come in_.”

“ _Base here, Ghost, go ahead_.” Red Alert responded.

“ _Transmitting coordinates. Six enemy mechs on guard duty waiting for others to return. Instructions?_ ”

There were a few moments of silence, and Mirage watched the Decepticons banter and chatter inanely.

“ _ETA on return?_ ”

“ _Unknown by enemy_ ,” Mirage relayed.

Another klik passed in silence before Red Alert returned. “ _Instructions as follows. Observe, do not engage, avoid detection. Maintain radio silence until the return is detected, then immediately inform Base. Understood?_ ”

“ _Copy that, Base. Ghost out_.” Mirage waited until the transmission was cut by Red Alert, then closed his end of the link.

Rain. That would make him uncomfortable, but more than that was the threat of the raindrops bouncing off of him and making him visible despite the electro-disrupter being engaged. Mirage shifted slowly and carefully to lie on his front on the ground. His legs and most of his torso was worked carefully back into the forest, then he meticulously arranged the huge, leafy plants to form something of a shelter over his shoulders and head. That was the best he could do beside hope that the Decepticons were kept too busy being miserable should it rain to notice the way water would run off Mirage.

Whatever Prowl was planning, the spy hoped the Autobots hurried so they were able to stop whatever this newest Decepticon plot was.


	15. Chapter 15

The sound of the door squealing open drove Thundercracker the rest of the way awake. He winced as the sharp sound pierced his aching processors, and growled.

“Head still hurting, Tee-Thundercracker?” Misfire asked.

Focusing a frown on him, Thundercracker snarled, “And where have you been? Lost again?” Misfire entered the room, and a splash of bright golden yellow followed. Thundercracker bit back a groan. “You did get lost again.”

“Not… totally. Besides, Sunstorm found me and helped me back.”

Thundercracker looked up at the youngling seeker as the door closed behind him, and felt the press of their schedule. “We need to go. Rain or not. Shockwave will be expecting us in twelve cycles, maybe less. We’re out of time.”

Misfire groaned, and Sunstorm stared off, head tilted as though listening. Which he must have been given his next words. “I’m told it has slowed, but not stopped yet.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Thundercracker said. “We can’t wait anymore and still make our space bridge ride back to Earth.”

“I understand,” Sunstreaker said, and pulled two cubes of the pale energon from his subspace. “Here. Let me report to Thunderwing, he will have to order the blast doors unlocked.”

Thundercracker glanced at the cube, and saw Misfire grimace at his own. Through a private comm channel he asked, “How are your levels?”

“Sorta low. I don’t even know how the mechs here are surviving on this stuff. We might as well consume water for all the good it does us.”

Thundercracker nodded, decision made. He pulled three of the smallish travel rations from his subspace, giving Misfire a warning look. Sunstorm wasn’t paying any attention to them, was in fact, half turned away and frowning at whatever internal conversation he was having with Thunderwing, but Thundercracker didn’t want the tetrajet to know both he and Misfire had their own energon.

“I am to go with you. Guide you,” Sunstorm announced, turning back to face the other two fully. He stopped, mouth open as he caught sight of the rich, nearly purple liquid.

“Then you’ll need this. Drink only enough to top off,” Thundercracker said. “I don’t have time to sparkling-sit an overcharged youngling.” He took in the look of shock on Sunstorm’s face. “What? You thought Lord Megatron would send us _here_ without rations?” He continued on, a feeling of unease settling over him. “You don’t need to come with us. I know exactly where Soundwave’s old labs are and I have the codes to get into them.”

Sunstorm sipped carefully at the energon, trying hard to not show how much he was enjoying it. “Thunderwing likes taking me down a peg or two when he can. I’m admittedly vain, and he thinks sending me out in an acid storm will… I don’t know- give him something over me.”

Thundercracker felt a moment’s pity for the young seeker, but it was Misfire that spoke. “Why are you here anyways? You’ve gotta be younger than me, and everyone else is a lot older and dented and… umm…”

“Unsavory?” Sunstorm smirked. The expression turned self-depreciating. “Suffice it to say I didn’t understand the value of playing well with others, and was sent here to learn my lesson.” He was silent for a moment, finishing off the entire cube of energon. “I can’t remember the last time I was over ninety percent,” Sunstorm murmured as he disrupted the empty cube’s field and it disappeared with a faded flash.

Thundercracker felt a jolt of shock, and saw the same reaction on Misfire’s face. He’d suspected that Sunstorm had been purposely giving them the weakest energon Thunderwing could find, but if what the kid said was true, then the whole base really was living off that stuff that could barely pass for energy!

“How long are you stuck here then?” Misfire asked, breaking Thundercracker from his thoughts.

Sunstorm shrugged, the movement too careful to be as careless as he wanted it to look. At least in Thundercracker’s optics. “That commander was killed only a half vorn later in combat. I believe I may just be a permanent resident here in Stanix.”

Thundercracker felt his optics narrow slightly, and shoved the remaining energon back into his subspace. “Let’s go. We have a schedule to keep whether the rain strips our finish or not.” Sunstorm led the way out of the room, and Thundercracker cast one quick glance around to be certain they were leaving nothing behind. He had no intentions of returning once Soundwave’s supplies had been collected.

The blast doors slid open as the trio approached, and Thundercracker felt a little tension ease out of him. The rain had finally stopped after all. It still dripped off the roofs, but at least he wouldn’t have to put up with the sting of acid working its way through the gaps in his plating. Without a word or waiting to see if Misfire and Sunstorm were with him, he launched into the air and homed in on the ancient buildings that were once the Decepticon stronghold for southwestern Cybertron.

The flight was short and uneventful despite the curtain of acid rain still visible to the north. Thundercracker landed at the main door to the largest building, and listened to the eerie silence, interrupted only by the dull clanks of Misfire and Sunstorm landing behind him.

“I’m so glad the rain moved on!” Misfire said as Thundercracker keyed the door open.

Thundercracker glanced back and nodded. “There were a few battles back in the beginning that were fought in the rain. It’s not so bad so long as the acid doesn’t get into your optic or audio sensors. Deaf and blind is no way to fight.”

Thundercracker brightened his optics as much as possible to see into the gloom. The building held the stale smells of rust and decay and… something else he couldn’t quite place, but it pulled at memories long forgotten.

“Huh! I bet, but I sure am glad I won’t be stuck fixing my paint like that rude green mech.”

One set of footsteps stopped. “Rude green mech?” Sunstorm asked, voice hushed and urgent. “What rude green mech? When?”

Thundercracker stopped and turned back toward the youngling, Misfire had paused too, and had his head cocked to the side in confusion. “You know. That kinda short green mech that I keep running into whispering with Thunderwing in the halls.” Misfire looked at Thundercracker. “Like the first time I got lost when Thunderwing brought me back? He was talking to the same mech.” He turned back to Sunstorm. “But today when I got lost and saw them, the green one was complaining about how the rain ate his plating and that it stung and he really did look like a mess. Probably would have been easier to stay out in it until-”

“What is it?” Thundercracker cut Misfire off. Sunstorm was now staring back at the door.

“The door. You just keyed it open. It should have been locked. I was given codes to unlock it for you, but it just opened.” Sunstorm faced Thundercracker. “You said you had codes though?”

But Thundercracker was already shaking his head, and an angry, low growl was rumbling deep in his chest. “It wasn’t locked.” It was a slagging trap! But why?! He charged both arm cannons and pulled a blaster from his subspace. “Sunstorm.” The youngling backed away, shaking his head. “Yes. Get out of here. I don’t need to be worrying about being shot in the back by you while looking out for whatever surprise Thunderwing left for us.”

“He sent me here too!” Sunstorm argued. “He _insisted_ I come! I didn’t know, or even suspect until Misfire mentioned Axelgrease was out in the rain.” Thundercracker charged the blaster to full and aimed it at the yellow seeker. Sunstorm raised his hands, but didn’t back down. “If the door was unlocked, then who knows _what_ is in here now. This is Empties territory, and if Axelgrease and Thunderwing really want rid of us, then you can bet some of Scyk’s own Empties are here now too. You’ll need the extra set of optics and guns.”

A chill ran straight through Thundercracker’s systems, and Misfire whimpered in the dark, the red light of his optics swinging around wildly. “You have no idea what will happen if Misfire and I do not return from this mission. Not only are we here for Lord Megatron, but for Soundwave as well, and it is of _critical_ importance. If you betray us, you won’t live to reach maturity. At best, you can hope that your death is fast. I doubt it will be though, if Soundwave comes for you.”

Even in the gloom, Thundercracker could see how Sunstorm shrunk in on himself. Honestly, the whole of Stanix would have two wild with grief seekers to contend with as well as Soundwave. The Empties would feed well then, but he didn’t want to even hint at Starscream turning up in this place.

“I swear I didn’t know. I won’t betray you,” Sunstorm promised, voice small and sounding very much the child he still was despite all the superior airs he liked to display for the other mechs of Fort Scyk.

“You’d better not,” Thundercracker snarled, then turned. He pulled the datapad Soundwave had given him from his subspace, and pulled up the building’s map. “Come on. Slag. Of course his frelling lab had to be in the most out of the way corner of the second sub-basement.” He fell to muttering strings of curses under his breath, and set off at a slow and nearly silent pace, optics and blaster sweeping right to left, left to right, up and down. “And since there’s no power, we have to take the fragging stairs.”

The first floor was cleared easily. The corridors were wide and empty of any clutter. Thundercracker ran a scan of the space beyond the door that led to the emergency stairwell. He got nothing back, but that really didn’t mean much. He was a combat mech, not a medic or mechanic, and his scanning sensors might not be sensitive enough to pick up the low level of energy an Empty put out.

“Here,” Thundercracker said, handing his blaster to Misfire. “Cover me.” He dug his fingers into the edge of the door and braced to pull, giving Misfire a serious look. “And aim _carefully_.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t shoot me, Misfire. Hit the enemy, not me, Misfire. I _know_. Just open the farking door before I glitch from the anticipation.”

Thundercracker smothered a grin and pulled.

Nothing happened. 

He frowned, wriggled his fingers in, and _pulled_ , and was rewarded with a grinding sound and the door sliding back half a hand span.

“Let me help,” Sunstorm said, and moved up next to Thundercracker. They both got solid grips and pulled once again.

Thundercracker stopped when the door was about halfway open and listened, turning the sensitivity in his audials up until he could literally hear Sunstorm and Misfire’s sparks pulsing, but there was nothing else. No shuffling footsteps. No rasping of degrading vents. None of the wordless, chilling moans Empties tended to make when they smelled the energon of something that might be their prey.

He lowered the volume back to normal and braced his back to the door jam, shoving the door all the way back so they could haul aft back through it if need be, without having to slow or worry about clipping their wingtips. “Let’s go.”

“Wish we had a hunter with us,” Misfire whispered. “Someone with better sensors would be nice. Think Hook would upgrade me?”

Not wanting to encourage his companion’s nervous chatter, Thundercracker didn’t answer. He crept down the stairs, moving cautiously and trying not to touch the rusting handrails. He stopped at the open door to the first sub-basement, listening closely and hearing nothing that would indicate a threat. He opened a comm channel, wary of speaking out loud even in the continued silence of the building. “I don’t like this.”

“I am so not staying behind as a guard in the creepy dark stairwell in the creepy dark rusting building where the Empties are just hiding and waiting to eat me,” Misfire sent back.

“Me either,” Sunstorm whispered through the comm.

“No, we’re safer if we stay together. Just don’t forget this door is open when we come back out. It’d be a good ambush point. Even our door on the main floor would be a good spot to attack as we leave. Just keep your optics, and this channel, open.” Thundercracker eased past the open door and continued down.

The door to the second sub-basement was closed. _Primus, please just let me get home to my mates alive and in need of no major repairs_. Thundercracker dug his fingers in, Sunstorm stepping up to help. They pulled, and both stumbled as the door screeched, then gave way completely, sliding into its recess with a loud bang. Thundercracker started to fall, but caught himself against the wall, reaching out automatically and catching Sunstorm. The youngling clung to him, fast, frightened respirations gusting over Thundercracker’s cheek.

All three remained frozen, listening hard in the interminable silence.

“I swear I’m about to glitch from all this suspense,” Misfire muttered through the comms. “Here, Thunder, your blaster.”

Sunstorm moved away as Thundercracker pushed himself off the wall. He took his gun back, and studied the datapad. “Ok. We move slow, and watch for open doors. Misfire, I want you on my left. Sunstorm, put your back to ours and watch our afts.”

“Yes, sir,” Sunstorm murmured as he and Misfire followed Thundercracker into the hall and took their positions.

“One more thing,” Thundercracker whispered through the comm. “There shouldn’t be _anyone_ but us here. If it makes noise, shoot to kill. We’ll have a nice laugh later over how many glitchmice we shot thinking they were Empties.”

They moved out, Thundercracker straining his audials and sensors to the maximum capacity and still not detecting anything. He was beginning to wonder if they were just being paranoid. That mech, Axelgrease, could have been out in the rain on any number of errands. How many times had Thundercracker hunkered down, barely out of the rain and stuck on guard duty? Axelgrease could have been doing something completely innocent. At least in regards to Thundercracker’s mission.

_Starscream’s rubbing off on me. I’m expecting betrayal at every turn._

The trio passed a total of seven open doors in the first three halls. They paused at each one and swept the room with sensors and optics, listening carefully, but beyond abandoned crates or dilapidated furniture, there was nothing they could detect in the rooms. Thundercracker hated the time it was taking them to be overly cautious, but -despite his own doubts about there being a threat- refused to rush. He was still uneasy, and though a good portion of that could be blamed on the environment, it’d be foolish to possibly leave an enemy behind them and blocking their route back out.

“How many fragging corridors are there here?” Misfire groaned as they turned the corner and entered the fifth.

“This is the last one,” Thundercracker told him. “End of this hall, last door on the left is Soundwave’s, and I don’t see any open doors. Come on.”

They started forward again and Misfire stumbled. “Slag!” he swore out loud as he crashed to the ground.

“What happened?”

“Why’d you trip?” Thundercracker asked at the same time as Sunstorm’s question.

“Dunno. Foot caught on something. Probably just junk.”

“How much junk have we had to maneuver around?” Sunstorm asked, tone worried and suspicious.

“Right,” Thundercracker said, and squatted down, feeling along Misfire’s legs and feet to the floor. His fingers brushed over a thin wire and the energon in his lines froze. “It’s a tripwire,” he whispered through the comm.

“I’m sorry,” Misfire whispered back.

“Just aim for the enemy before you pull the trigger. One of us was bound to trip this snare. If we managed to miss it on the way in, odds are we would have still pulled the line on the way out.” Thundercracker stood and listened but still heard nothing. “Come on. We still have to-”

There was a shuffle-scuff in the dark behind them, and Sunstorm began whispering something- some old prayer to Primus. Thundercracker spun, weapons aimed back along the corridor. “This is a dead end, there’s only one way they can come at us,” he told them.

“Did you have to say ‘dead end’?” Misfire asked, voice tight.

There was a rasp and a groan-shuffle-scuff, and a dim shadow detached itself from the black and stepped into the diffuse glow of the Decepticons’ optics. The three of them backed slowly away.

_Why aren’t we shooting it?_ Thundercracker thought, then aimed at what he thought would be the center of the thing’s chest and fired. Misfire yelped as the purple energy bolt left Thundercracker’s blaster with a sharp rapport. Sunstorm opened fire as well, and for a moment the small section of the hall was lit.

The Empty crashed to the ground and didn’t move again.

“Nice shooting, Misfire,” Thundercracker snickered sarcastically. “And let go of my arm.”

“Sorry. Just never seen one before. I mean yesterday in the ring, but it wasn’t coming at me.”

“I hate them,” Sunstorm whispered. “And there are more coming.”

“Let’s go then. There’s no way any Empty, or anyone else, could get past Soundwave’s locks. We’ll get ourselves in there and have a secure place to fight from.” Thundercracker led them further down the hall. There were more sounds in the dark. A low hungry moan echoed in the black, and Misfire whimpered quietly. Thundercracker hushed him, or rather turned his head to do so and ended up crashing to the floor as his heel thruster was caught.

“Thundercracker!” both other Decepticons shouted.

Behind them in the dark a handful of soft shwooshing noises sounded simultaneously with howls and more hungry moans. Thundercracker scrambled to his feet. “Trine defense,” he ordered, and the three of them stood in a rough triangle facing out. “Fire at will.”

In the lightning flashes of the blaster bolts they could see the Empties. Dull grey things, broken and missing bits of armor, wires and cables exposed. Thundercracker tried to push the horror of the strobed images from his mind and focus on the fight itself, but the stumbling clumsy creatures drawing closer with every brief flash, arms stretched out, reaching, mouths gaping open, optics faded and dim or simply dark holes in faces where the underlying circuitry was visible made it almost impossible. He wanted to scream.

He wanted to wake up!

“Primus!” Sunstorm yelped, his wing thumped against Thundercracker’s as the youngling jerked.

Thundercracker dared to turn, and fired blindly. Muzzle flare lit the side of Sunstorm’s dark face and the other mech shouted in surprise as the Empty’s head was blown apart from the point blank shot.

It was Thundercracker’s turn to lurch as something grabbed his ankle and pulled. He aimed low and fired at a hand and arm with plating that glowed a sickly orange.

“How fragging many are there?!” Misfire yelled over the howls and cries surrounding them.

“Too many!” Sunstorm answered, and they all let loose a frantic barrage of fire, only stopping when the forms lying piled on the floor stopped moving.

“Slag! Misfire! You have any emergency flares?” Thundercracker asked as a thick silence fell.

“Uhh… Lemme check.”

Red light burst forth, illuminating a grisly scene. Slight movement to Thundercracker’s right had both he and Sunstorm shooting. The Empty gave a low whine as its systems fell offline in deactivation.

“Get me… the _fuck_ … out of here,” Misfire said, voice quavering. “Primus! I’m going to be sleeping in Ramjet or Thrust’s berth for the next month!” He held the flare high, the flickering glare making the shadows jump and giving the illusion of more movement.

Thundercracker looked around carefully, waiting for any hint of sound or motion, searching the darkness beyond their ring of light as well. “Keep your guard up. Let’s get in that lab.”

They moved quickly then, not bothering to check the now open doors some of the Empties had come from.

“Did you see?” Sunstorm asked. “Did you see that some of them still had color?”

“What’s that matter?” Misfire asked as Thundercracker pulled up the program that would transmit Soundwave’s signal to his lab locks.

“Empties are grey,” Thundercracker answered almost absently as he plugged the datapad’s cable into the keypad.

“Those ones we saw yesterday had col- _Oh_! Oh, I’m going to kill him personally!”

“ _We_ will kill him personally,” Thundercracker corrected as the door beeped and slid open. He unplugged the cable, and the three of them hurried into the lab. Thundercracker relocked the door, then turned to see Misfire and Sunstorm carefully inspecting the room. It was neat and orderly in a way that Thundercracker expected from the telepath.

“Here,” Misfire said, and tugged an empty crate out onto the floor. “If we fill these up we should be able to fit them in our cargo holds for the flight back home.”

“Good. Here’s the list.” Thundercracker set the datapad on a table, and traded his blaster for an emergency flare of his own. “If any of the storage drawers are locked don’t try to open them. Soundwave said that none of the stuff we need would be in the locked compartments.” They set to work and filled one crate and then another.

“Why does Commander Soundwave need all this stuff?” Sunstorm asked staring down into the crates of accumulated datapads, components, and tools.

“Because he does,” Thundercracker said shortly, lifting his flare high and spotting a smallish lockbox on the uppermost shelf over a workbench. He laid the flare down and stretched up on the tips of his feet to reach the box. He managed to wriggle it closer by his fingertips and catch it as gravity finally pulled it over the edge and into his hands.

“Is that on the list?” Misfire asked.

“No, but it looks… important. We’ll take it with us.”

“Fine, let’s get out of here then. We’ve got everything else on the list, plus some extra parts I saw he might like to have around.”

“Good thinking.”

“Look what I found!” Sunstorm suddenly called out. Both Misfire and Thundercracker spun around to face him.

“Are those…? Stars!” Misfire laughed. “Those are energon treats! The energy hasn’t bled off either,” Misfire grinned, and faced Thundercracker with a sly expression. “Do you think Soundwave would miss these?”

Thundercracker took the slim sticks of energon from Sunstorm, handing one back to him and one to Misfire, then subspacing the remaining two. “Eat it later when you can enjoy it,” he told them. “Now let’s go. We’ve got exactly half a cycle before we _have_ to start heading for the citadel. You two carry the crates. Misfire, give me your blaster.”

Misfire didn’t look happy about the order, but complied. There was no arguing Thundercracker was the better shot of the two of them. The hall was clear and remained silent as Thundercracker carefully reset Soundwave’s locks. A shudder coursed through him as they inched past the dead Empties.

“I never want to see another Empty so long as I live,” Misfire sent through the comm channel.

“I wonder what Thunderwing plans to do about the arena. There are only a few of the Empties I’m familiar with that I didn’t see here amongst the dead.” Sunstorm shifted the crate in his arms, and Thundercracker paused, holding the one flare that still burned high to help the yellow seeker see better. “Yes, I’m sure of it. There’re at least four I know of that aren’t here. Vicious ones too. I suppose it won’t be as entertaining in the arena, but-”

“Wait,” Thundercracker interrupted. “Wait, and let’s think about this a minute. Did he really expect armed warriors to fall to these things?” He looked around. “Let’s say those four, Pits, let’s double that for kicks. There are eight more of the most vicious Empties ever to fall to madness still here in this building. We just killed… what?” Thundercracker looked, really looked at the bodies and counted. “There’s seventeen including this first one up here. Seventeen Empties against three trained, combat-blooded warriors. That makes no sense. Even _if_ there are _that_ many left alive in here, and even _if_ they’re deadly, fast things, they’re nothing compared to us.” He paused and looked at Misfire and Sunstorm. “What’s the point? Does he really think we’d die in here?”

The other two shrugged, Misfire’s mouth opening and shutting again wordlessly, Sunstorm’s golden optics blinking and a frown marring his face.

“Look at this set-up. Trip wires in the very hall of our destination. Empties that had to have been triggered by those tripwires as well as the doors. This is elaborate. So why send Empties? Why not attack us directly?” They were missing something here. Thundercracker could feel it, he just couldn’t see it.

“What if it was to weary us?” Sunstorm asked. “If you hadn’t given me that energon earlier, I’d be ready to drop into stasis after that first battle, and the two of you -to Thunderwing’s knowledge- have had nothing but our energon for the past few rotations, and not even full rations.”

Thundercracker felt an optic ridge arch at that.

“I’m sorry. I was following orders. He was already so angry that I was doing anything other than handing you those meager cubes and making sure you stayed in your quarters, I didn’t dare disobey and try to sneak more.”

“Then this mess here was likely the first wave. Wear us down, but not stop us.”

“Which means-” Misfire began.

“Which means that there is another attack coming, and Thunderwing is insane.”

“If he knew how important this was-”

“It wouldn’t matter,” Sunstorm cut Misfire off this time. “Everyone knows that if it’s important to Megatron or Soundwave then it must be valuable. The temptation must have been too much. It makes sense to wear us out, let us get into Soundwave’s lab before the final attack.”

“Put the crates down,” Thundercracker ordered. He pulled the half finished cube from earlier from his subspace and downed nearly all of it in a single gulp. He wasn’t too depleted since he’d used the blaster more than his arm cannons, but if they were going to be in another fight, and maybe against trained soldiers instead of Empties, he wanted to be prepared.

Sunstorm accepted the last bit gratefully, Misfire copying Thundercracker and giving the last two mouthfuls from his own cube to the yellow seeker. They both had more, but if anyone got to remain low on charge it would be the possible traitor in their midst, and Thundercracker hadn’t completely decided Sunstorm wasn’t going to betray them.

“Let’s move.”

The attack came in the stairwell from above and below as they left the second sub-basement. Thundercracker opened fire, tossing Misfire his blaster as soon as he had set the crate down. There were seven Empties, Thundercracker counted as the seventh slammed hard into him. Its hands were curled into claws, and it had once been a large ground mech, heavily built and strong.

He cried out, blunt fingers digging at armor seams, but didn’t dare let go of the thing’s throat to shove its hands away. The Empty howled, jaw snapping closed impotently on nothing but air. Thundercracker locked his elbows in place and grit his teeth against the pain in his side and wings as they pressed against the edges of the steps. His shoulder and elbow joints literally creaked under the pressure, and he gasped, trying to shift his arms just enough to be able to shoot the monster in the head. Even a glancing blow would help.

Hot energon bathed him in a bright mist as the thing’s chest exploded.

When it was shoved aside, Sunstorm reached down to haul Thundercracker back to his feet, and gave him a wavering smile. “Three for me then, and three for Misfire. Only one for you, Thundercracker. I think you’re getting lazy on us.”

As a joke it fell flat in the wake of all that was going on, but Thundercracker put his hand on Sunstorm’s shoulder briefly in thanks. The kid _had_ probably just saved his life after all. “Grab those crates. It’s time we paid Thunderwing a little visit. Stay alert though. It’d be stupid to assume this is over just because the Empties are dead.”

They made it out, however. The rains had returned, but it was only a slight drizzle. Thundercracker remained armed as Sunstorm and Misfire took to the air and flying in front of him so he could guard them both. Though thank Primus, Empties at least couldn’t fly.

Thundercracker pulled ahead as they neared the base, his wings and the back of his legs still stung from the acid, but even that had stopped again by the time the flew over the fortress walls and landed in front of the blast doors.

A green mech stood just within the doors as they slid apart, a look of surprise dawning on his face. Thundercracker caught a transmission, but couldn’t hear it. He took in the marred, acid burned paint, the narrowing of red optics, and the mech’s hand twitching towards his own subspace, and fired both arm cannons at full power.

The betrayer’s face and chest were blackened, and the green was fading to deathly grey before Axelgrease’s knees even began to buckle.

Thunderwing stormed into view then, and Thundercracker leveled his guns on the Base Commander. Thunderwing’s optics were wide in surprise as he stared at Thundercracker. “What is the meaning of this?!”

“Oh, I’d love to know,” Thundercracker purred low and dangerously, his arm cannons whined at full charge, the ends beginning to glow as he held back the shots. He needed proof, a little voice of reason reminded. This was an officer, and even if he was only the commander of Fort Scyk, he was one of Megatron’s officers, and Thundercracker had better be able to irrefutably justify his execution.

“Why did you shoot my Base Administrator?” Thunderwing demanded.

Thundercracker snorted in contempt, and reabsorbed the charge from his weapons. “Because he was out in the rain earlier setting a trap for us. But you didn’t know anything about that, did you?”

Thunderwing’s optic’s widened almost theatrically. “I reprimanded him for being off base this morning.”

Thundercracker glared, but his internal alarm beeped. _Slag_! “Fine. I can’t kill _you_ without proof, but you can bet your thrusters _everything_ , including my suspicions, will be going into my report to Lord Megatron.” He turned toward Misfire, keeping Thunderwing in the edge of his vision. “Load me up. We need to get to the space bridge.” He transformed and opened his cargo bay.

And slag again. What was going on here that Thunderwing would risk Megatron’s wrath to kill Thundercracker and Misfire? He transformed back, taking the crate from Sunstorm to load it into Misfire, then without another word he launched into the air. Misfire taxied and took off, arcing in a tight half circle before adding speed and flying straight towards Shockwave’s citadel.

Thundercracker spared the large purple flyer one last glare before folding into jet form and rocketing away.

“What the slag, TC?! I mean really! What the slag?!”

“I don’t know, but we need to hurry.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “Pits, I’ll just bring Star back here. He can sniff out a betrayal like one of those Earth dogs can follow a scent trail.”

“What do you think’s gonna happen to Sunstorm? He saved my life back there. I took out the one above you, and both that came up from below, but there was a second one that jumped right over you and the thing that had you pinned, and it would’ve gotten me if he hadn’t blasted it.”

“I owe him too, but we have more important things to worry about. Even if he wasn’t in on the plot to kill us, he still didn’t warn us that we could be in danger just wandering around the base.” Thundercracker growled as rage washed through him in a sudden hot wave. “Frelling Pits! We’re Decepticons! It’s one thing to brawl and fight. It’s a whole other though, to really set out to kill each other. Megatron’s gonna be fragged. _Soundwave_ is gonna be fragged when he finds out we were delayed just so Thunderwing could weaken us enough to kill us and steal his stuff.”

“Well, I don’t know, Thunder. I mean it’s not like he can control the rain.”

“But trusting idiots that we are, we just _accepted_ that it was still raining because we were told so. We could have hit a break in the rain like today sooner.” He growled again, and put on another burst of speed. “Move that aft, Misfire. Sunstorm’s on his own. If he’s got half a processor he’ll run away before Thunderwing can kill him.”

~ | ~

The first thing Thundercracker heard as his processors finished realigning from the trip through the space bridge were shouts and blaster fire. The second was Triggerhappy shouting curses, and then Wildrider cackling madly.

“Getcher afts in the air!” Slugslinger shouted over the comm line. “We’re under Autobot attack.”

Misfire yelped as a stray bolt grazed his hand. The crate he’d been carrying landed hard on the ground, some of its contents spilling out.

“Get the fuck out of here!” Breakdown screamed. “Move! We aren’t going to be able to hold them all!”

Thundercracker fired a few cover shots, and shouted to Misfire, “Forget it! Those are the extras, right? Let’s go!”

Misfire grabbed the crate, wincing as the injury to his hand shot pain up his arm. He snarled angrily and leapt into the air, thrusters engaged, and flying as fast as his root mode was able. “We should have just stayed in jet form. Slag the disorientation.”

“Yeah right, and ended up with little Cassetticon parts all through our holds? No thanks.” Thundercracker glanced back as a loud explosion seemed to make even the sky tremble around them. The other six Decepticons were fleeing the destroyed space bridge as Autobots fired pot shots after them.

“Boss is gonna be pissed about that.”

Thundercracker sighed, and flew on. At least the ache in his processors had eased. That confirmed his suspicions that it was separation stress from the bond. He desperately wanted to open the bond and bask in the feel of his mates, but his circuits were already tingling with desire, and Misfire was right. Megatron was going to be furious over the destruction of the space bridge. It was best to keep control over himself, and his spark, until his leader had dismissed him.

At least Starscream and Skywarp had had each other while he was away. And if anyone could tease the Air Commander out of one of his moods, it was Skywarp. Even in his worst moods, Skywarp could get a laugh out of Starscream when he really tried.

~ | ~

Soundwave rushed from the science lab as soon as the transmission came through that Thundercracker and Misfire had returned successfully. He sent Hook a short data burst, requesting the aid of a Constructicon to help him retrieve the supplies, and for Hook to meet him in the medbay.

Rumble pushed at his blocks, and the telepath sent a hurried wave of affection, then closed the link again just as quickly. Even though the seekers had returned, he was terrified that they had forgotten, or been unable to find, something critical. Or that Hook had miscalculated, and Frenzy and Ravage were beyond aid even now. He didn’t want his creations feeling his fear and overreacting. Poor Rumble was already so distraught. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were as well, Soundwave knew, but they were leaning on each other emotionally and would be fine once their brothers were repaired.

Hook appeared just as the lift doors opened, and Thundercracker and Misfire exited with the crates of supplies in their hands, and followed by six other battered Decepticons.

“What the slag happened to all of you?” Hook demanded. “Nevermind. Get to the medbay. The others can look after you once we get Frenzy and Ravage’s repairs under way.”

Thundercracker handed his crate to Soundwave, and then reached into his subspace. He set the box atop the crate. “Found that and thought it looked valuable. I think we got everything and then some. Misfire had the idea to grab anything that looked useful and bring it along.” Misfire’s face flushed in pleased embarrassment. “Good luck, Soundwave. We’d better go report in to Megatron.”

Megatron stood behind the Reflector trio when Thundercracker and Misfire entered the Command Center.

“Sir,” Thundercracker said, and stood at attention. Misfire mimicked his stance a step behind and to the right.

“Report,” Megatron ordered curtly as he turned.

“Overall the mission was a success, but it was an eventful three orns.” Thundercracker hesitated only a moment to choose his words carefully. “Megatron, Sir… Something is going on at Scyk. I can’t prove it, but I believe Commander Thunderwing ordered his administrator to kill us and make it look like an accident.”

Megatron’s optic ridges arched up in surprise. “Oh?” Thundercracker nodded. “And what of his administrator?”

“Deactivated, my lord. He was going for a weapon when he saw us land back at Fort Scyk.”

The tyrant’s mouth curved in a malicious smile. “So Axelgrease is no more?”

“Greying before his husk hit the floor,” Misfire broke protocol and answered.

Megatron chuckled. “Go clean yourselves up and recharge. I will expect full reports from both of you by eleven hundred tomorrow.”

“Sir, there is a… An issue though,” Thundercracker said. He fought the urge to cringe. “The Autobots were attacking the space bridge when Misfire and I came through. The guard squad is in the medbay now, a couple of them took some heavy damage.”

Megatron’s face had morphed from smirk to frown to glower of fury. “The Autobots? And what of my space bridge?”

“Destroyed, Sir. Even with Misfire and I there we were outnumbered a solid three to one. They had to be waiting for us. The guards didn’t have a chance against them.”

“Get out of my sight! And I want Autobot names in those reports! I will have my revenge!”

“Yes, Sir,” they replied in unison, and hurried out of the Control Room.

Megatron fought for control over his desire to rip the nearest mech to pieces, and frowned down at the little trio of spies sitting stiffly at the monitor consoles. Spectro stared up at him, waiting. “Open me a channel to Shockwave.”

~ | ~

Starscream had eased his blocks the moment he knew Thundercracker was back on Earth. Instead of rushing out the way Soundwave had, he waited. His bondmate would have to report in, and he really did need to finish saving and transferring the data their prisoner had entered today.

But then Thundercracker was there. Just all _there_ within the bond. Starscream felt his knees weaken in relief, joy, and _need_ , and felt the mirrored emotions from Skywarp and Thundercracker both.

Starscream punched one last button, snatched the human off the table, ignoring its squeak of surprise and pain, practically throwing it into Rumble’s arms. “Put it away and lock up the lab,” Starscream ordered as he cleared the doorway and was gone.

Starscream spotted Thundercracker just up the hall, near the door to their quarters, and quickened his pace. Thundercracker turned his head, a smile forming on his lips as Starscream threw himself between him, arms wrapping around Thundercracker’s neck and mouths crashing together. The door slid open, and Thundercracker’s arm banded around Starscream’s waist as he walked them backwards into the room, the door beeping quietly as it locked behind them.

Then Skywarp was there, his front pressing hard to Starscream’s back as Starscream nuzzled into Thundercracker’s neck, his mates kissing over his shoulder. He moaned, sinking into their warmth, sucking lightly at Thundercracker’s neck cables.

Thundercracker purred in deep pleasure, basking in the heat of his mates’ bodies as they pushed against him. He reluctantly pulled away from Skywarp’s kiss. “Berth. Now,” he growled, voice roughened by the driving lust. His spark pulsed hard in his chest, and he could feel the answering beats from his bondmates, even though they hadn’t begun to merge yet.

Skywarp stumbled backwards, Starscream landed against his side, right wing quickly folding in. The tension that had bristled between them for days now melted as Thundercracker crawled over them, hand cupping Skywarp’s cheek, lips grazing over Starscream’s face to finally settle in a deep, claiming kiss. Skywarp writhed a bit, pressing his side harder against Starscream’s, hands reaching up to stroke and glide over the planes and angles of Thundercracker’s body, his wings.

A deep moan rolled through the room, followed quickly by a sharp gasp, and a higher pitched cry. Energy roiled through their bodies, hands grasping, clutching. Starscream arched into the exchange and cried out again. Skywarp whispered his mates’ names, mouthing the upper edge of Thundercracker’s wing, his fingers burrowing into the transformation seams of both other seekers. Bodies writhed, backs bowing, and wings quivering under the onslaught of need and desire and pleasure.

Hands stroked, heat burned through cables tightened in lust, and they strained together towards release. The energy crested, broke, and ecstasy -pure and driving- slammed through their bodies in a single powerful rush.

Slowly, three minds separated from the single one they had become. Skywarp whimpered and tucked his face in against Thundercracker’s neck, kissing and licking lightly, blissfully happy to have their bonded home.

_Primus, it’s really only been a few days,_ Skywarp thought.

_I missed you both so much,_ Thundercracker whispered. _My processors wouldn’t stop aching._

Starscream blinked his optics open, hearing Thundercracker’s words as his own mind cleared.

“Slag, TC!” Skywarp exclaimed. “What happened to you?”

Thundercracker chuckled, and sat up as both bondmates began pushing at him. He let them fuss over the marred paint and minor damages. Starscream hurried to the medical kit they kept in their room as Thundercracker began pulling up his memories for them from the moment he stepped off the space bridge on Cybertron, to the moment Starscream flung himself into his arms.

“And that was a lovely welcome home, Sweetling,” Thundercracker purred, pulling Starscream down into another warm long kiss.

Starscream smiled, but it faded fast as he watched Thundercracker’s memories while hiding his own thoughts. His mate had more than cosmetic acid damage. The side seams of his chest plates were bent and warped in places as though large fingers had- 

“Slag me!” Skywarp yelped as they were pulled deeper into the memory and relived the huge Empty’s attack on Thundercracker.

Starscream came back to himself with a hand scrubbing imaginary energon blood from his face. He stared uncomprehendingly at his clean hand for a moment as the last of Thundercracker’s memories played out. Then Skywarp began a vague and random retelling of their adventures for the last few days.

“Oh! Oh, and there’s a human here!” Skywarp said. “But Star won’t let me play with it.”

“Why would you want to?” Thundercracker asked in disgust.

The human! Starscream froze, stunned. How could he have simply thrown the thing at _Rumble_ and run off. The bond. He’d been so focused on just having Thundercracker there, within his reach and needing, _needing_ to touch, to merge, to lose himself in the feel of his mate, that he’d forgotten everything else. He was supposed to be in the lab right now. Instead he had thrown himself - _in the middle of the hall where anyone could have seen them_ \- into Thundercracker’s arms and kissed him. He’d been half carried into their quarters!

Lose himself! Starscream nearly groaned out loud. He had most certainly lost himself. Primus! He hadn’t even seen Thundercracker’s damage. It wasn’t bad enough to require a medbay visit, but it was damage, and it could have been so much worse. If that little yellow seeker hadn’t-

Starscream pushed the thoughts aside for now and distracted himself by asking, “Why did you leave that Sunstorm behind? He saved your life.”

“Yeah, that means we owe him,” Skywarp added.

Thundercracker smiled. “What? Bring the pretty baby jet back for you two to get all mushy over? No thanks, I don’t need the competition. But I _did_ bring something for you.” He reached into his subspace and removed the two energon treats.

Skywarp snatched one immediately and giggled like a sparkling. “Aww! Our Honey loves us! Even thinks to bring us back gifts after the crazy zombie monsters tried to drink his blood!” He threw his arms around Thundercracker’s neck, planting a loud smacking kiss on his cheek before sitting back on his heels and sticking the treat in his mouth, sucking loudly on the end.

Thundercracker smiled up at Starscream, and held the other treat up. Putting on an air of serious dignity, Starscream accepted it, and bent to place a light, chaste kiss on his mate’s lips.

“I do love you,” Starscream murmured, warmth flooding him as Thundercracker smiled up happily.


	16. Chapter 16

Jazz stared around the table at the officer’s meeting as Prowl detailed Mirage’s report and everyone else’s battle reports. In the center of the table sat a half dozen rather small Cybertronian parts. Red Alert was eying them with narrow, worried optics and a frown on his face.

“None of this makes any danged sense!” Ironhide said as soon as Prowl finished speaking. He reached out and picked up one of the miniature parts, and held it up. “What the slag are those ‘Cons up to now? They’ve run back ta back attacks in broad daylight with hardly a breath between, and against places full of humans. And now this?” He waved the part around in the air a little for emphasis. “What’re they doin’? Buildin’ an army of mini ‘Cons?”

Red Alert’s optics went comically wide, but Jazz spoke before the Security Director could. “Seems ta me, they’re either up ta sumpthin big, or they’re scramblin’ ta fix sumpthin that went real wrong down there at that base o’ theirs.”

Prowl nodded. “I agree with Jazz, and believe we need to discover just what the Decepticons are doing. We may have bought ourselves some time by destroying their space bridge, but at least one mission to Cybertron was a success. We must take action immediately, before they-”

“Bumblebee to Prime!”

All of the officers went still in surprise at the sudden interruption. “Prime here. What’s wrong, Bumblebee?”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s an emergency call coming through from our liaison. He says they think they have another Decepticon attack.” Every last one of them were on their feet in an instant, ready to roll once the young scout finished relaying the information. “He wants to talk to you, Optimus. Says they might have some humans missing, and they have no idea what the Decepticons would have wanted with this research facility.”

“The attack is over?” Prime asked.

“Yeah… Uh… Yes, Sir. He says that most of the humans that were working there are dead. Then there were some piles of ash they belief are remains. They aren’t sure because of the ashes, but they’re pretty sure they’re missing at least one scientist, probably two or three.” Bumblebee paused for a moment. “I’m sorry, Optimus. He’s… Well, our liaison, he’s pretty mad. Wants to know why we didn’t stop the ‘Cons, and is demanding to know what we’re gonna do to get the missing scientists back.” He hesitated again. “He’s being rather rude and um… demanding, Sir. What should I tell him?”

Prime growled in frustration, but it was Ratchet that spoke. “Tell him we’re packing it in and leaving Earth. He’s on his own to deal with the crazy alien robots that want to destroy his world. I wish him the best of luck!”

Optimus cast a glare at the medic, but Ratchet just shrugged and smirked. “Bumblebee, tell the man we will check into it and do what we can.”

“Yes, Sir. Bumblebee out.”

Prowl turned steady, serious optics to his leader. “We must act. We must discover what the Decepticons are trying to accomplish.”

“I agree,” Prime sighed. “I will contact our liaison and get all the information I can regarding this newest attack.”

“Be good ta know just what them ‘Cons were after with this latest stunt. Might be a clue as ta what they’re up to.”

Prime nodded at Ironhide, and stood. “We will meet again in the morning with fresh minds and decide on a course of action then. Meeting dismissed.”

They all rose to their feet again, and Jazz was just reaching for the keypad to open the door when the alarms went off. Bumblebee’s voice sounded urgent and tense over the comm. “Teletraan just detected Decepticon activity at a steel factory!”

Prowl stepped past Jazz smoothly, keying open the door and linking to the base’s internal comm channel. “Decepticon attack detected. All hands report to the front gates for combat immediately. I repeat. A Decepticon attack has been detected, _everyone_ report now to the front gates.”

~ | ~

Soundwave watched apprehensively. To look at him none would know it, but he was restless, worried. Laserbeak was north of their position flying as lookout and would notify them the moment the Autobots showed up.

Buzzsaw was back at the base watching over his elder siblings. Thus far they were resting and doing as well as could be expected. The most critical, life-threatening problems had been worked on by Soundwave and Hook. They were by no means close to complete, but Thundercracker’s success had saved his creations’ lives. The earlier work had bought them both more time.

Time being eaten up by being here.

Rumble stood beside him, strong, but too small to be of use in loading the large, heavy beams of steel. Even that was not what had Soundwave so concerned. No, what was troubling him was the mission itself.

Megatron had jumped on this location without any reconnaissance or planning. It was rash and easily within range of the Autobots should they make a counter attack. That large shuttle of theirs could have them here any moment.

More, Starscream was furious.

Long experience had taught Soundwave that a furious Starscream meant something was going to go wrong with the mission. What was even worse was the fact that Megatron had merely ordered his Second in Command to stay on the ground, hold the line, and obey Soundwave’s orders. He’d given no details, which was a patented way to torque the unstable seeker into disobeying.

Soundwave wondered which of the two of them Megatron was trying to torment more. True, the telepath often fell into the role of being a tactician due to his logic and planning capabilities, and he would often send out orders during combat while their leader was occupied, but he’d never ordered Starscream about. For all their differences, Soundwave knew the seeker was a fine aerial leader and combatant, and was best left to do his job without interference. Unless he detected a plot against Megatron, he left Starscream alone, the only exception being the occasional mention of where the flight squadrons might be of use.

But to actually be considered in command of the seekers? They should be in the air, but Megatron wanted them to remain on the ground. Despite that, Soundwave did not hold the rank, nor did he know _that_ much about aerial combat. He knew more than most other ground mode Decepticons, but certainly not enough. He wasn’t trusted by them. Starscream was furious and therefore highly unlikely to listen to even the most humble request Soundwave might make. It was a foolhardy risk, and he was left without a way to debate this course of action. If there had ever been a benefit to the Cause by him being Megatron’s lover, it was that Megatron would at the very least _listen_ to Soundwave’s advice. He didn’t always take it, but now the telepath could not even offer it.

There was only one remedy to that situation, and even that was not possible at this time. Not only was Soundwave still aching over the emotional betrayal, too much to fake the humility a reconciliation would require, but Megatron himself was still too angry. He would reject the telepath out of retribution without bothering to listen to how much Soundwave regretted the choice.

_The East! They’re coming from the East!_ Laserbeak’s near frantic warning came only an instant before the distant rumble of the shuttle’s massive engines reached them.

Soundwave relayed the information, and the defensive line was shifted in a flurry of movement. Thrusters engaged as the seekers followed their commander in flight to the new position, and the low buzz of the aerial combat channel surfaced.

“Use the main channel!” Megatron snapped. His optics, however, remained forward on the approaching enemy troops.

Starscream remained airborne, hovering low, Skywarp and Thundercracker on the ground to either side.

Soundwave pinged Starscream’s private comm. “Orders: Remain grounded. Hold the line.”

Starscream spared a glare for the telepath, and continued to hover a few meters above the rocky earth.

Behind them the Constructicons, Swindle, and Brawl hurriedly loaded the steel. They would need more time to gather enough and escape. The fewer raids needed, the higher their rate of success would be. The fewer raids needed, the fewer chances Megatron had to slag it all up. Starscream ignored the angry glare from Skywarp at the thought, blocked both out, and focused on the coming battle.

Melee combat. He was aware of the other seekers shifting restlessly. Some, like Ramjet and Thrust, were built more heavily and could handle close quarters combat nearly as well as any ground mech. Others, such as Starscream, his mates, and Misfire were built lighter for speed, and meant to attack from a distance. It wasn’t cowardice, just fact. They were ranged attackers, and their armor was more easily damaged than hand to hand combatants.

Megatron’s foolishness was going to cost them the battle. What were they doing sitting here on their hands waiting for?!

Starscream’s thrusters revved as the Autobots came into view. They paused at the top of the rise and fanned out, still beyond targeting range, assessing the situation. He growled at the sight of red and yellow.

“Move out!” Megatron ordered. “Do not let them through!” He stomped over and roughly jerked Starscream back to the ground. “You will hold this line from the ground!”

Starscream glared back defiantly for a moment, letting Megatron growl in irritation. “Yes, my lord,” he purred in a mockery of obedience, knowing Megatron would not attack him. He was needed too much to be beaten into submission now. Starscream brushed aside any concerns over what might happen later. They would succeed. He would see to it.

~ | ~

“What’re they doing? That’s not normal. Why aren’t the seekers flying? Why-”

“They’re buying time, Bluestreak,” Optimus said as he watched the Decepticons march toward them. “They’ve created a living blockade to keep us from stopping the Constructicons.” He turned to face his tactician. “Prowl?”

Prowl let his gaze roam again over what would become their battlefield. His initial assessment declared this a lost cause and that it’d be far more logical to retreat. This would accomplish nothing but more damage, and the Decepticons had a high probability of success. Many years, however, had taught him that regardless of the odds, Prime would want to fight, and not hear anything about how minimal their chances of success were. It was Prowl’s job to find those tiny percentage points and twist them in the Autobots’ favor.

“The bulk of our troops should focus on a frontal assault while sending a smaller team to the canyon side. If we draw their left flank inwards we may be able to get past them long enough to disrupt the Constructicons.” Prowl left off the fact that they were outnumbered, and such a maneuver had only a twenty-one percent chance of working. The probability of success dropped one point for every thirty seconds sooner that the Decepticons might notice the secondary team.

“Let’s do it,” Optimus said.

Prowl sent out a fast data burst to the twins, Jazz, and Cliffjumper. They were all more than sneaky enough to get past the frontline, and deadly enough to stop the Constructicons if they managed to reach them, and hopefully Jazz would be able to rein in Cliffjumper’s rashness.

~ | ~

_Stay close._

Rumble glanced up at his creator to acknowledge the order, then watched as Laserbeak folded himself quickly into Soundwave’s chest compartment. Soundwave was nervous, and it was vibrating through their mental link. Rumble spared a moment to wish he was next to his younger brother. Or better yet, back at the base with his twin. The telepath feeling so uneasy that his creations could feel it was a bad sign.

“Seekers: Divide in half. Take flanking positions.”

Ramjet glanced back at Soundwave, hesitating only the barest moment, but it was too long. Rumble flinched, and though he prided himself on _not_ being a coward, he found himself peeking out from behind the dark blue leg of his creator when Megatron backhanded Ramjet. Thrust snatched his wingmate’s arm and quickly hauled him off in the direction of the right flank. A glance to left showed Starscream and his mates already moving. Starscream had a definite switch to his gait, and his wings were hitched high. It was hard to tell whether the seeker was feeling smug about not being the one to get hit, or infuriated anew by having to take orders from Soundwave.

_This is some crazy slag, Dad._ Rumble went unanswered as he stepped forward once again, optics trained on the slowly advancing Autobots.

~ | ~

Starscream’s wings ached with his effort to keep them from shaking in rage.

_Relax, Star,_ Thundercracker said softly through the bond. _Soundwave’s doing good by placing the ranged fighters at the flanks. Let the ground pounders take the middle and the brunt of the Autobots’ attack._

_We should be in the air!_

_Well, Megatron wants us on the ground so get over it!_

Starscream whirled on Skywarp, but sudden laser fire cut off the angry retort. They returned fire, Starscream the first to fold his wings back behind his body. Thundercracker followed the example quickly, Skywarp huffing something that an explosion swallowed up before Thundercracker heard it, folding his own black wings away.

They advanced with the line, and Thundercracker had to admit to being pleased with Soundwave’s choice as the main fighting was occurring in the center of the battlefield, keeping his mates relatively out of the line of the too close plasma blasts that would melt their armor. He hated be grounded, and focused that fear and rage into an attempt to blast a small cluster of minibots ganging up on Runabout. Skywarp joined him, and together they managed to free the Battlecharger, but also gained the attention of one of the Autobots.

Starscream shoved them both to the ground, cursing fluently the entire time. “This is _ridiculous_!” He raged, “We’d be far more useful in the air!”

“We have our orders!” Skywarp snapped back, and rolled away.

Thundercracker sighed, and rose as well, adding his blaster to the mix again.

“Slag the orders! Look!” Both his mates followed Starscream’s outstretched arm and pointing finger to the gleaming yellow and red mechs slipping into the short canyon that arched around and opened back up on the other side of the factory. With a shriek, Starscream was airborne, and Skywarp was following without argument.

“Wait!” _It could be a trap!_ Thundercracker called after his furious bondmates. He leapt into the air, ignoring Soundwave’s order to the three of them to return.

“They die!” Starscream hissed through their trine comm channel.

Skywarp’s portion of their bond radiated a nearly ecstatic joy. He teleported himself over the canyon walls and let loose a barrage of missiles.

Thundercracker raced to catch up. His fuel pump stuttered and his spark faltered with Skywarp’s surprised cry. He clamped down on the part of the bond belonging to the falling seeker, feeling as Starscream did the same, though both still felt the flare of ghost pain through their left wings.

In the canyon a sharp call echoed out from beyond the rockslide Skywarp’s bombs had caused. A simple command and Thundercracker fought with the choice. Should he go after the Autobot spy that had shouted for the twins to ‘keep ‘em busy’, or rescue his mate?

In the end, of course, it was no choice at all.

~ | ~

They stood at an impasse. Sunstreaker held Skywarp firmly in front of him like a shield. Sideswipe knelt on the rough terrain beside him where he had fallen, shoulder missiles armed and blaster pointed unflinchingly at their opposition. Starscream’s optics were narrowed, both guns pointed at the twins. The angry whine of armed weaponry cast a menacing ambiance over the strained silence.

"Today is not a good day to toy with me, Autobot," Starscream hissed, his voice grating dangerously over the sound of his charged weapons. Sunstreaker merely glanced at Starscream before returning his gaze to Thundercracker, whose head was tilted forward in anger, his own weapons armed and ready, though his arms remained at his sides. He did not want to push the warrior into harming his hostage.

The tension mounted, each waiting for the other to volley the first shot, the distant sound of the rest of the battle echoing against the cliff walls in a disturbing crescendo.

"You don't say?" Sunstreaker grinned wolfishly, ignoring the warning that his brother sent along their bond as he addressed Starscream, optics locked on Thundercracker's silver face. His optics glowed brightly with malicious excitement as he roughly jerked back Skywarp’s head, metal squealing softly in protest as he bent back a little further on an already crooked wing. The pained grunt that Skywarp couldn't contain brought a dark and furious scowl to Thundercracker's face, and though Sideswipe didn't move, Sunstreaker could feel the disapproval radiating from his twin as he realized the original plan of taking the seeker hostage had changed.

Starscream obviously found the dismissal insulting, and his voice rose to a shriek with all of the audible grace of breaking glass. "I will make sure that you _pay_ for your insolence!"

"Are you just here to chat, or are you going to make demands?" Thundercracker interrupted evenly, halting whatever tirade Starscream was about to launch into. Starscream glared at him, but oddly enough, chose not to reprimand him for the interruption.

"Sure," Sideswipe chimed in, voice oozing sarcasm even though he couldn't currently move due to his damaged leg. "You throw down your weapons and come quietly back to have a little chat with Prowl about your recent behavior."

Through his peripheral vision, Sunstreaker saw Starscream tense and crouch slightly lower at the sarcastic retort. It really wasn’t a surprising reaction, since the Autobot twins were well known for pounding their enemies to slag rather than taking prisoners. It was part of what made them good frontliners. More than that, Sideswipe was well known for brandishing sarcastic and off-key commentary before shoving his pile drivers straight through enemy plating. They were all aware that this standoff was abnormal, and Sunstreaker made a note of it for future reference, just for the sake of personal enjoyment. 

"Slaggin- nnggh!" Skywarp growled roughly, the pain in his straining wing sending tense vibrations through his entire frame. He tried to lash out, and then hissed in pain as Sunstreaker sank the fingers of one hand further into his damaged wing, while the other hand dug sharply into his neck cables.

At his outburst, the expression on both of his wingmates darkened even more, and Sunstreaker laughed. "Who'd have ever guessed?" He barked another laugh, shaking his captive slightly and pulling him a little closer in the process, whispering into his audials loud enough for everyone to hear. “’Cons trying to save other Cons. What makes you so worth the risk?"

Sunstreaker blocked against his twin as he felt the rise in worried anger at the comment. His twin still didn't agree with his methods, but the shock that was showing on Starscream and Thundercracker’s faces was enough to prove to Sunstreaker that it was effective. Optics rose to lock once again with Thundercracker’s. "What are you willing to give to save him?"

"You will be sacrificing your life if he is harmed," Thundercracker growled menacingly, the beginnings of a threatening purr making its way into his tone. Beside him, Starscream laughed cruelly, feigning a lack of caring that was at odds with his tense posture.

The challenge of the standoff was giving Sunstreaker a heady rush. His tone was sultry and smooth as he continued the verbal sparring. "Want to trade places with him then?"

"Sunny,” Sideswipe warned.

Sunstreaker returned Thundercracker’s challenging glare for several moments, then saw the red optics widen in shock as the seeker's face twisted sharply to look toward Starscream. Acting purely on instinct, Sunstreaker twisted, pulling Skywarp more fully between himself and Starscream just as he heard the high whine of discharging energy weapons. He had a split second to see the grim determination on Starscream’s face and hear the loud crack of a sonic boom, before the shock of nullrays assaulted his systems _through_ Skywarp. He fell backwards, the seeker torn from his arms before he even hit the ground.

Sideswipe was frozen with shock at the sight of Starscream ruthlessly firing the shot that was absorbed straight into Skywarp’s fuselage, rendering both the Decepticon and his brother incapacitated. He was hit by a blaster shot from Thundercracker before he had a chance to react.

The shot seemed to drag on forever for Thundercracker, the sound echoing in his audials along with a yell that sounded strangely like his own voice. Then, as if in slow motion, Sunstreaker began to fall back, Skywarp barely online as the current was cut off to most of his systems. 

Starscream moved as fast as Thundercracker had ever seen him, and time sped up to normal as the sound of a sonic boom washed over him. Starscream, displaying the precision and agility that had earned him his rank, had his arms around their fallen mate in an instant, his thrusters roughly digging into Sunstreaker's plating as he fired them to help stop his forward motion. Burn marks bubbled the gold plating as he pushed off of his enemy and back into the air. 

Starscream landed beside Thundercracker, depositing Skywarp in his arms before turning back to their fallen opponents, optics bright with deadly intent. Skywarp hung limply in Thundercracker’s arms, a static whine coming from his vocalizer as he struggled to gain control over his systems.

Thundercracker struggled for coherency for a moment, unable to comprehend what Starscream had just done. He finally managed to force his chaotic thoughts into words. "You shot him," he mouthed quietly, his voice sounding strange even to him. "You shot him!" 

Starscream paused for a moment, turning his head to look back at both of his bondmates for a moment, mental barriers still firmly in place, though his voice was soft. "Thunder-”

Both of them jumped at the sound of metal scraping against rock, turning their attention back to their opponents just in time to see Sideswipe roll back into a kneeling position in front of Sunstreaker's prone body, his leading leg sparking with exposed circuitry. Despite the pain that he was in, he glared up at the seekers as though he hadn't been immobilized a moment before. He attempted to raise his blaster to fire on them, only to have it shot out of his hand by one of Starscream's arm cannons. 

"Oh, look!" Starscream sneered, one hand on his hip as he waved mockingly at Sideswipe as he struggled to bring up his backup blaster for an offensive. "An Autobot trying to save another Autobot." 

Sideswipe froze, hand flat against the ground to help keep himself upright as he glared at the Air Commander. Starscream’s voice lowered to a scratchy mimic of Sunstreaker's tone. "Are you sure he’s worth the risk?" 

"Why don't you come over here and find out?" Sideswipe glared defiantly, the extent of his injuries doing little to dampen his bravado. 

"I don't think that will be necessary. I promised that _he_ would pay for his insolence." 

Starscream raised his arm, smirk spreading across his face as a hidden compartment slid aside in his forearm to fire a small missile toward Sideswipe. 

Thundercracker watched, suddenly glad that the bond between them was not fully open. Even partially blocked, he could feel the twisted pleasure that Starscream felt as Sideswipe stood his ground in front of his twin. Whispers of elation and power emanated from his bondmate as Sideswipe's body was tossed several dozen feet away by the explosion, his damaged leg completely severed at the knee. He couldn't help but feel a slight smear of disgust at the sound of Starscream's raucous laughter as he watched the Autobot squirming in pain before him.

Guilt and shame washed over Thundercracker at the disgust he felt toward his bondmate, but he could not bring himself to support the pointless torment of an injured and unarmed soldier, even if it was one that he despised. It was a waste of time and ammunition. 

"Starscream," he called out. "We've already won this battle."

"Just a minute," Starscream replied distractedly. He stood over Sunstreaker, and the sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the canyon as his foot connected with the unconscious Autobot’s side. Sunstreaker’s body scraped across the rocks, and his twin hissed his name with painful desperation before collapsing under a well-aimed nullray.

"Starscream," Thundercracker repeated, louder and more firmly to get his mate's attention.

"What is it?"

"You should listen to him," a voice called. Mirage materialized in a shimmer of air, and Thundercracker suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a blaster rifle. "You've won this battle. Time to leave."

Starscream's face twisted in an angry frown as he froze, taking a slight step back from the unconscious forms before him. He began to raise his nullray, but stopped as Mirage twitched his rifle pointedly at both of his mates. "We won't be taken prisoner." 

"Then take your mates and go," Mirage said softly.

Thundercracker stared at the spy in surprise, then suddenly realized why the Autobot had waited until both twins were unconscious before making his presence known.

Mirage spared a glance for the damaged twins, then threw a disapproving glare in Starscream's direction.

Starscream walked slowly over to his bondmates, never taking his eyes off the spy. "Why should I believe that you would just let us leave?" he hissed, raising his chin haughtily, red optics narrowing in suspicion. 

Mirage smiled slightly, head tilting in amusement at the Decepticon's arrogance. "Call it a favor returned for keeping your word and helping us destroy the drug." He sent another quick glance toward the unconscious Autobots at his feet before adding with a disapproving tone, "There's been enough damage done today."

Thundercracker smiled at that, pulling his unconscious mate up as he warmed up his engines for flight.

Starscream grasped Skywarp as well, dividing the burden between them, though his optics had yet to leave Mirage. "We owe that one much more than this," he spat with hatred before they took off as one.

Mirage stayed true to his word and did not fire upon them as they gained altitude and distance. The wind against his plating was a balm to the tension still gripping Thundercracker. "You didn't have to shoot him," he said softly, not sure if he could be heard over the roar of the wind around them.

Apparently he was, as Starscream looked down toward Skywarp, optics dimming slightly. "It was the fastest way of getting him away from those slag heaps. He won't have any lasting damage once his systems come fully back online."

"You could have found another way," Thundercracker replied, surprised to find that it sounded like an accusation even to his own audials.

Red optics locked with his for a moment, glowing brightly with frightful conviction. "I will _not_ let either of you be captured again."

The rest of the trip back to the Nemesis was silent, save for the sound of the wind. Thundercracker should have felt relieved, or at least heartened by his mate's declaration, but he couldn't stop remembering the moment when he saw Skywarp's optics dimming, his body shuddering and convulsing as vital systems were deprived of their power. The memory played on a loop through his processor over and over, haunting him.

~ | ~

Mirage knelt beside Sideswipe and stared at the damage, then frowned and radioed Ratchet to alert the medic to the twins’ positions.

“You could’ve shown up sooner,” Sunstreaker snarked, and then moaned as he moved and worked his way up to sitting.

“I arrived soon enough.” Mirage didn’t even blink at the hateful glare that was cast his way. “You were going to execute that seeker.”

“News flash, sneaky. This is a _war_. We’re _supposed_ to kill the enemy. Not that I’d expect a ‘Con sympathizer like you to grasp that, but it’s true!”

There was a slight gasp, and Mirage glanced down to see Sideswipe staring in shock at his twin. He could hear the sound of Ratchet’s engine coming closer. “You ought to keep a shorter leash on your brother.” Sideswipe’s optics snapped up to Mirage’s face. “I doubt Prime would be pleased to know you weren’t keeping him properly in check.”

Mirage cast a glare of his own toward the furious golden warrior, and stood just as Ratchet appeared. He backed away with a nod for the medic, and then left. He was concerned and angry.

He needed to speak with Optimus Prime.

~ | ~

Soundwave hurried straight to the medbay. He could feel the concern from his creation as Ravage caught sight of the dents and dings he had taken in the battle. Soundwave rarely engaged in hand to hand combat, but tonight had been different.

And he’d been distracted as well.

Frenzy woke, his worry joining his brother’s as he gave his creator a long slow look. “Ya look like slag, Dad. Ya alright?”

“Condition: Acceptable for present.” Soundwave set about checking the status log from while he was gone. Frenzy and Ravage both were spending most of their time in recharge in an attempt to conserve energy until they were capable of consuming it from an outside source again. For now the reports showed that they had held stable, and Soundwave fought the urge to sag in relief.

He still had time.

A sudden commotion by the door stole the attention of everyone in the medbay.

“I can’t believe you shot me!” Skywarp snapped. Or tried. His voice held a slur and his legs didn’t seem to be working quite right.

“I told you,” Starscream replied. “I had no choice! Besides, it was your own fault for not waiting for Thundercracker and me.”

“My fault?!” The angry shout lost some of its heat when Skywarp wavered, gyros still reeling and damaged, his balance off and leaving him dizzy.

Soundwave turned away from the spectacle the seekers made and focused on his own tasks. First. “Rumble: eject.” Rumble’s injuries were fairly minor -thank Primus- and would not take long to repair. Then he would move on to Frenzy, who still required the replacement of half a dozen servos. Soundwave blocked all else out and focused on his creations. He’d made mistakes in this last battle. Foolish things because he’d been more concerned over Rumble’s whereabouts and how Frenzy and Ravage were faring than where the Autobots’ sniper was and who he was aiming at.

Soundwave knew he needed to complete the repairs. He would be functioning at less than optimal until his sparklings’ lives were out of danger.

“Starscream!” Megatron’s voice blared suddenly over the comm. “Report to the Command Center immediately!”

Starscream sighed in irritation, “On my way, leader.”

Skywarp glared after his mate as Starscream left without another word or glance.

“I can’t believe he shot me!” Skywarp muttered.

Thundercracker continued his work at manually resetting his bonded’s systems and replacing the blown relays. “He felt he had to, Sky. He didn’t enjoy shooting you. He just wanted to get you away from that crazy Autobot.”

Skywarp snarled. “He should have obeyed Megatron! Then we never would have been over there alone!”

Pliers clanged loud as Thundercracker slapped his hands down against the repair berth and leaned his face closer to Skywarp’s. “I’m sorry. Was it Starscream that teleported you over that canyon to be shot by the enemy? Did he also somehow manage to block me from telling you both through the bond that I thought it might be a trap?” Thundercracker was silent a moment before he picked up the tool again and went back to work.

Whatever they were saying now was within the bond, and Soundwave didn’t care enough about it to try to listen in. Let the lovers manage their own spats.

~ | ~

“Now get out of my medbay, and stop messing with those fraggin’ seekers every damn battle. I’m sick of putting you two slaggers back together.”

Sideswipe grabbed his brother’s wrist, stopping Sunstreaker from completing the rude gesture he’d begun to send to Ratchet. Sunstreaker jerked his arm out of his twin’s grasp and stormed down the hall.

_Sunny! Please!_

“Please what?!” Sunstreaker stopped abruptly and spun to face Sideswipe.

“Come on, bro. Relax a bit, you’re starting to freak me out. You were way out of control there tonight.”

_I was in perfect control!_

“You were planning to kill the ‘Con.”

“It’s a _war_ , Sides!”

“I know! I know. But-” _You’re worrying me_. “But you weren’t heat of battle, shoot to kill. You were premeditated murder, bro. What do you think Prime would do to you? To us, if you did something so totally against what he believes?”

Sunstreaker’s mouth dropped open a little, and he stomped toward his brother, stopping when they were face to face and less than a hand’s width apart. “Have you lost your mind? They are _Decepticons_! And they’re up to something big too! If Prime really wanted to win this war he’d _do_ something about it! We should be capturing every ‘Con we can and doing whatever it takes to get the information out of them about what the slag they’re up to now! We should be tearing them apart in every battle, but do we? No! They’ll all be sorry though, when we lose this war because they just had to show the enemy mercy. Mercy, I’ll add, that those ‘Cons will _never_ show us!”

Sideswipe fought to hold his ground against the rage and hate he could feel from Sunstreaker despite the way his twin was blocking him out of their bond. He suddenly felt so tired, and decided it wasn’t worth a fight tonight. Sideswipe lowered his optics and reached out to lightly stroke the tips of his fingers down Sunstreaker’s arm. _I just worry about you, Sunny. I love you._

“Come on,” Sunstreaker said, voice still angry and tense, but not quite as heated as just a moment before. “I need some recharge.”

The twins disappeared down the corridor, and Mirage stepped away from the wall, his cloaking device shutting down and revealing his frowning face. Despite Sunstreaker’s obvious fury, he did have a good point. The Autobots needed to be more proactive and discover what the Decepticons were doing before it was too late.

His talk with Prime would need to wait, however. Optimus had taken some heavy damage in the battle. Not anything life threatening, but Mirage knew Ratchet had sedated their leader so he could get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow would have to be soon enough.


	17. Chapter 17

Starscream entered the Command Center with a smirk on his face. “Did you call me here to admit your foolishness, oh mighty leader? Are you ready to concede that seekers belong in the sky?”

“Idiot!” Megatron snapped. “Your foolishness nearly cost me the mission!”

“The mission was a success!” Starscream argued. “Had my trine and I not gone after those Autobots, they’d have slipped through and done far greater damage to the Constructicons than just that one spastic spy!”

“The mission would have been a far greater success had you followed orders! Your lack of proper discipline nearly cost me this victory, and were it not for Laserbeak spotting that saboteur, the Autobots would have caused far more damage than they did!” Megatron took a menacing step forward as Starscream opened his mouth to continue the argument, and continued on, voice low and menacing. “Let me remind you that failure in this little project idea of yours will _not_ be tolerated. Each failure on the battlefield sets back the completion of the converter, and it is you, Starscream, that will be punished for those failures.”

Megatron paused a moment, his head tilting in just slightly as a new idea struck. “I believe it's past time for me to take action against your constant rebelliousness. I hereby assume direct command of the army's air support squadrons. _You_ will act as nothing more than the extension of my will that you always should have been! If my orders are not carried out to an acceptable level of _perfection_ , then I will not only extinguish your traitorous spark, but also those of your bondmates!”

Starscream sputtered. “You… You can’t do that! _I_ am the Air Commander! Your Second in Command! You know nothing about true flying or-”

“Silence! Fool! Your opinion is of no consequence. You _will_ do as I command, or you and your bondmates will suffer for your treachery!” Megatron stood in the following silence, taking the moment to enjoy the heady feeling of seeing Starscream cowed, humiliated, and terrified. And best of all. Speechless.

“I expect a full update on the converter by oh nine hundred tomorrow. Now get out of my sight!”

Starscream scurried out of the Command Center, leaving the tyrant to bask in his victory. He rushed to his quarters, the hot flush of shame riding him hard. He locked the door, then sat in a huddle at the top of his and his mates’ berth, rocking slightly, and trying to think. His thoughts, however, refused to do anything but chase each other in circles.

Megatron had stolen command of the Aerial Forces from him and threatened his mates. Two things. Only two things truly mattered to Starscream. His power and his bondmates.

Megatron would have to pay.

~ | ~

Rumble slipped into the dimly lit medbay. At least things were quiet now, even the Constructicons had retired. Near as he could tell, the raid for the steel had been successful enough. Everyone had been repaired and sent packing, and even Soundwave had been kicked out of the medbay with orders to go and recharge.

Rumble had to hand it to Hook. The mech had some serious bearings to stand between Soundwave and his recovering creations. He nearly giggled to himself. 

Of course, the first thing the telepath had done upon returning to his quarters was log that he was going to recharge as per medical orders, all the while ordering Rumble to call him immediately if Frenzy or Ravage needed anything because Rumble hadn’t been ordered to remain out of the infirmary until oh-eight-hundred the next morning, and so was of course free to go wherever he wanted. He _did_ want to go see his twin, didn’t he?

And since yes, he most certainly did -and would have done so without Soundwave practically ordering him to- there he was. Rumble worked his way up to the top of the repair berth and snuggled against Frenzy, who opened his optics, visor glowing a moment before it was retracted.

“Hey,” Frenzy whispered.

“Hey, yerself,” Rumble murmured, and retracted his visor as well.

Carefully, so as not to tug the lines still connected to him, Frenzy turned and arranged himself more comfortably in his brother’s arms.

“How ya feelin’?”

“Miss ya. Miss our room. Tired, but the pain’s not as bad since Dad fixed me up, and I’ve even had a little energon on my own. Not much, but it stayed down.”

Rumble tightened the hold he had around his twin’s shoulders in a one-armed hug. He lightly caressed the forearm draped over his chest. “Miss ya too. Glad the pain’s goin’.”

Frenzy relaxed further against Rumble, drifting back in to recharge.

_Alas, no love for me,_ Ravage’s said. _No, no. It’s quite all right. I didn’t almost die as well, so why would you waste your precious time greeting your elder brother?_

Rumble jerked, and Frenzy woke.

“I’m sorry,” Rumble whispered. _And ya know I love ya too. I just didn’t even mean to wake Zee. I wasn’t gonna wake either of ya._

Ravage was shocked at the amount of remorse and hurt and _guilt_ coming through the link. He lifted his head and got a good look at his younger brother. His optics were shut and both arms were carefully wrapped around Frenzy’s shoulders, his chin tucked close to his chest. Frenzy was looking up at his twin’s face and frowning. _Rumble_ , Ravage called softly. _Rumble, I was only teasing._

Rumble nodded, but his optics still didn’t open. Ravage and Frenzy shared a look.

_We’re gonna be fine, Bro. Rav gets to leave once Dad’s sure his systems are clean. I’ll prob’ly be stuck here for monitoring for a while, but I’m fine._

_Not fine,_ Rumble said, and even his mental voice quavered. Both brothers could feel the fear that had seeped in, and Frenzy was very aware of the trembling from his twin’s body.

_We’re gonna live. We’re outta trouble now. And even if I’m not a hunnerd percent, I will be. Ya can relax now._

The only response was the single pink energon tear that escaped from Rumble’s closed optics. Frenzy wiped it away as Ravage rose and easily walked to his younger brothers, careful of his own remaining tubing connecting him to the external pump. He lay down and tucked his head comfortably on the shoulder not occupied by Frenzy.

_Poor brother,_ Ravage said, wriggling himself more fully against the younger mech. _He’s right. You can relax now. We will be fine. You haven’t lost either of us._

“This time!” Rumble said almost angrily, optics opening and more tears falling free.

Ravage nodded, and bumped his head against Rumble’s jaw. _Yes, this time. And may there never be a next time,_ he intoned softly.

They fell quiet, Rumble’s trembling eased, and Frenzy drifted at the very edge of recharge for a while.

_So yer escaping Hook’s clutches soon then, huh?_

_Yes. Eagerly._

_Can ya believe he had the juevos to kick Dad outta here?_

Frenzy snickered while Ravage accessed the definition of the word and cross referenced the usage. He snorted a laugh before being able to suppress it, and only caused the twins to giggle harder.

Ravage shifted and rearranged himself primly. _You are both abysmally crude._

_Whatever, Kitty. You laughed too._ Rumble grinned.

_I did no such thing._

_Yeah ya did,_ Frenzy argued through his laughter.

_I should call Hook. I believe you’ve gone delusional and taken your unfortunate twin with you._

_Nope. We heard ya!_

Ravage looked both in the optics in turn. _Hypothetically,_ he began, one optic ridge arching slightly. _Even **had** I laughed, no one would believe you, because,_ he gave them a smug look and allowed the same feeling to drift through the link, _I don’t laugh. Everyone knows that._

The twins shared a look, and Ravage was instantly blocked out. _Oh good. Now they’re plotting,_ Ravage thought, and suppressed a grin. He laid his head back on Rumble’s shoulder and allowed himself to relax. They were too easy. All the millennia they’d been his brothers and they still couldn’t spot when he was cheering them up. Ah well, such is the life of an eldest creation. Whatever keeps the younglings happy. Now all he had to do was watch out for pranks geared towards making him laugh.

~ | ~

Optimus cut the transmission and dropped his forehead to the desk. He’d love to just shout in frustration, but too many vorn of steadfast control wouldn’t allow him that sort of release. The human liaison was just not listening, and thought Optimus completely understood his frustration, there was little he could do to control the Decepticons.

The door chimed and Prime raised his head, quickly composing himself. “Enter.”

Mirage stepped in and keyed the door to lock after it shut. Optimus’ optic ridges rose, and he watched as the spy quietly made his way to stand before his desk. “Mirage,” he greeted.

“Sir. I’m sorry to bother you, but I must speak with you.”

Prime motioned to the chair, and Mirage sat. “What is on your mind, Mirage?”

“I’m afraid nothing good,” the spy began. “I’ve been watching the twins.”

Optimus frowned in disapproval. “And why would you be watching the twins? Were you authorized to?”

Mirage crossed his arms, expression unapologetic. “I took it upon myself. There is something wrong with Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe is not much better off. Sideswipe isn’t strong enough to resist his brother’s will and influence. On his best days Sideswipe is reckless and impulsive, and when he finally caves completely to Sunstreaker, there are going to be larger problems.”

“What kind of problems do you think we’re facing?”

“Sunstreaker doesn’t believe we’re doing enough to stop the Decepticons. He’s also in the midst of some type of vendetta with Thundercracker and his mates. Just last night he held Skywarp at gunpoint as a hostage against Thundercracker and Starscream.”

“It was a battle, Mirage.”

“This was different,” the spy insisted. “Prime, despite his methods and aggressive tendencies, Sunstreaker has a very valid point, and has expressed the same opinion many others have. It’s only that Sunstreaker is more vociferous when he thinks he’s alone with Sideswipe. He believes the Autobots aren’t doing enough and that we’re going to lose this war because we aren’t fighting it as hard as we should. We aren’t doing enough to win. And whatever it is that is happening between the twins is about to spill over into something far worse. Sunstreaker is plotting something. I know it.”

Optimus stared at Mirage, emotions churning in his spark. Frustration, anger, and now this. As disheartening as it was, he had to ask. “And you agree with Sunstreaker?”

“To a degree,” Mirage replied with a short nod. “I, too, want a peaceful end. I want to go home. We seem so few, and Cybertron is so empty now. If we don’t do something, Megatron is going to succeed and there will never be a home again. I, too, believe we need to discover what their newest plan is, and as fast as we possibly can.”

Prime remained silent for a few moments. “I do agree that we need to stop Megatron. The officers and I are due to meet in a few breems to discuss just that, but I will not fight this war the way Megatron does. It would make the Autobots no better than the Decepticons.”

Mirage nodded in acceptance. “As always, sir, my talents and skills are at your service.” He paused. “And what of the twins?”

“I do not like the idea of spying on our own.” Optimus sighed, and leaned back a bit in his chair. “However, if you truly believe something is going on then they must be watched. Do so surreptitiously. I’ll also ask Ratchet to look them both over.”

Mirage didn’t look completely pleased, but he nodded. “I’ll report anything I feel may be of concern to you, if you like?”

“Yes,” Prime said, and stood. “Now I must excuse myself. I have a meeting to get to. You’ll be notified if we have a mission for you, though I believe it would be too dangerous to attempt sending anyone back into the Decepticon base again so soon.”

The spy nodded and rose, allowing Prime to show him out. He dissolved from view a few paces down the hall. Even straining his audials, Optimus couldn’t detect where Mirage was. He turned in the opposite direction and headed for the meeting room. Determination flared. They _would_ get to the bottom of this. Perhaps one of his officers would have an idea as to why the Decepticons would attack a human _research_ facility. Cybertronian technology was far more advanced than anything the humans were studying.

It was a puzzle, but they would piece it together somehow.

~ | ~

_Creator?_ Ravage asked as he woke.

Soundwave sent a wordless wave of love to his eldest creation and gently stroked his hand over his head. The past few days had seen both Ravage and Frenzy greatly improved, though both were still very tired and under-energized. _I will allow Hook one last examination tomorrow, but I believe you are well enough to finish your recovery in our quarters._

_Frenzy will stay here alone?_

The telepath smiled behind his mask. _Rumble will not leave him alone, and I estimate only a few more days until Frenzy can return home as well._

Ravage nodded, and crawled closer to Soundwave. _Is it true we now have a human pet in our room?_

_He is no pet, but yes._ Soundwave pulled a seat closer to the repair berth and sat, letting his arms drape onto the surface and surround his eldest. _He is a scientist from an advanced technologies research laboratory._

_Human advanced? Why bother?_

Soundwave sighed wearily. _Because Megaton is still angry with me._

_You were right to leave him. He takes you for granted._ Ravage was silent a moment, probing gently at his creator’s emotions and thoughts.

Soundwave kept some hidden and others dampened down. He simply couldn’t share how much he hurt. Not even with his firstborn.

_This has happened before. True, you have stayed apart longer this time, but there are far more pressures here on this planet than there were on Cybertron. He’ll come around as always._

Soundwave nodded, accepting the comfort and love Ravage offered, and sinking into it. He’d always had a special bond with his eldest. Ravage seemed to understand him better than any of his younger brothers. _Eventually,_ he agreed. _The human is currently under our protection. No others have attempted to bother it. And according to Scrapper, the information this human has provided has been helpful if for no other reason than confirming the Constructicons’ theories._

_It will not survive long here despite that._ True, Ravage did not have the twins’ fascination with humans, but he knew quite a bit about them. _Their bodies are not suited to living so far below the surface. Yes, there are special teams that do study the ocean’s bottom, but they are not nearly so deep as we are._

_Pressure was taken into consideration. However, you are right. The human will be disposed of once he has outlived his usefulness. We cannot simply free him to tell the Autobots what he’s learned._

Ravage made a face. _Please promise me I won’t need to be present for that mess._

White fingers stroked over Ravage’s head again. _I hope not to be present._ Soundwave could feel the exhaustion in Ravage, and stroked him again with smooth, flowing touches. _Rest. Tomorrow you will leave here. I look forward to having all of you close to me again._

_I won’t be able to transform yet for some time,_ Ravage reminded.

Soundwave smiled. _I know, yet I look forward to holding all my creations in our recharge again._ He paused, the smile fading and sadness reaching through their link before the telepath could block it. _I do not like any of you damaged. It is distressing to know you are in pain and I can do nothing to correct it._

_It is the risk we take. And Thundercracker did well, yes? He returned with everything we needed and plenty of spare parts for any future damages._ Ravage tipped his head to the side. _Rumble mentioned an attack?_

_Empties were placed in the old building,_ Soundwave told him. _Thunderwing tried to kill Thundercracker and Misfire. Megatron has assigned Shockwave to look into the situation at Fort Scyk._ Another wave of exhaustion rolled through the link from Ravage. _Recharge now. I shall remain._

_Yes, creator._ Ravage shifted closer and curled up. He was in recharge within moments, and Soundwave watched, listening to the still rough sounds of his creation’s internals.

Frenzy was no better. In fact, he was quite a bit worse. Unfortunately, both would have to rely on their internal repair systems to handle the finer damage. With the main injuries now corrected, it would just be a matter of time. They would be safe for all that time as well. Even Megatron would not send an injured and weakened solider into battle.

The telepath sighed, and laid his head down on his arm, reaching out to gently pull Frenzy closer. He would remain as he had promised, but he could no longer deny his own need for recharge.

~ | ~

Starscream watched the small fleshling as it worked. It was such a waste of time. There was nothing this creature could give them that they couldn’t figure out for themselves.

And Soundwave was gone again.

That was irritating. The telepath would show up long enough to hand off the human, and then disappear back to the medbay and his foolish creation. As if Soundwave’s presence was having any effect at all on Frenzy’s recovery. The little idiot’s fatal damage was repaired all thanks to Starscream’s bondmate, and not a one of them had heard a word of thanks.

Soundwave merely snatched the parts and ran off. He didn’t care at all that Thundercracker had nearly lost his life, that Misfire had also been at risk, or that a youngling probably no older than his own creations had risked everything to help him!

Starscream slammed his fist into the console and took sadistic satisfaction in the yelp of fear from the human. “Are you finished yet?!”

It trembled and cowered back, its head shaking back and forth, whimpering a pathetic, “No.”

“Work faster,” Starscream snapped, and jabbed a finger at the modified datapad. The human cringed its way back and hurriedly began entering data. “How much longer is this going to take you?”

“I don’t know,” the flesh creature answered. “As I said before, I was only one of an entire team working on hydrogen fuel cell technology, and we’d been at it for years. Yes, I know most of it, but it’s still a large amount of information. You can’t expect me to get it all down in a few days.”

“You’ve been here a week as your kind mark time. Of course, your pathetic organic brains can never match a Cybertronian’s mind.” Starscream smirked cruelly at the fleshling. “I suppose I am expecting a bit too much from you.” He leaned in closer and lowered his voice to a threatening tone. “But you would do well to work as quickly and diligently as your puny mind allows.”

The human nodded and went back to work. Starscream watched it for a little while, but since it was behaving he allowed his mind to sink into the design aspects of the power converter. At least without Soundwave hovering he could let his mind jump around and be creative. There was serious potential in this project. Once it was complete and functional, they could conceivably build more collection units over other vents. There would be a surplus of energon. Starscream had, in the distant past, toyed with energon efficiency. Once this was completed successfully Megatron would have no choice but to acknowledge his achievements.

Of course, Starscream would need to figure out a way to propose the Decepticons essentially become energon farmers, but he would deal with that when he came to it.

He was being foolish. He would just destroy Megatron as the idiot deserved, and then have the Decepticons do as he pleased.

Yes. He would rule the Decepticons and return them to Cybertron in glory. Megatron would pay for the insult and humiliation he was suffering. He jabbed his fingers a little too hard as he entered his own calculations, but didn’t care. How dare that fool take his authority! He knew nothing about flying! Had never commanded an aerial fleet! They were going to lose this war because Megatron was nothing more than a tyrannical control freak!

The datapad screen gave an ominous crack and Starscream stopped, cobalt finger pressing into the center of a spider-webbed fracture in the glass. He sighed, and threw the unit against the far wall. The fleshling cried out in surprise and huddled in on itself. Starscream snickered at it and pushed away from his desk.

“Hey, Screamer!” Rumble called as the lab door opened. Starscream growled and spun to face the miniature menace. “The boss sent me to grab the squishy. Says it’s time he recharges.”

The human practically melted in relief, then hurried to the edge of the table. The seeker glared as Rumble climbed up on a box and reached for the all too willing human, helping it to the floor. “Com’on, Jeff! My bro got outta medical t’day! I wanna get home.”

Starscream glared after their retreating forms. So Frenzy was finally out? Lovely. Now he’d need to watch out for new pranks.

~ | ~

Soundwave moved easily about his workshop, mentally noting the parts and organizing them. There was little that could be done for Frenzy’s internals and current mobility issues, his own internal repair system would have to take care of the deep damage. It would be a long recovery, but perhaps in a few lunar cycles his youngling would be back to dashing through the corridors and wreaking havoc with his twin. Until then, and oddly enough, Ravage had taken to carrying his younger brother around on his back without complaint, having recovered enough to move without pain.

The telepath sat at his work table and began sorting through the case Thundercracker had retrieved. The seeker had said it seemed valuable and had brought it along. The other had no idea just _how_ valuable. Soundwave had forgotten about this box. He’d placed it on a high shelf after having completed the protoforms for Laserbeak and Buzzsaw, not having the chance to build more creations at that time.

He sifted through the contents, remembering as his fingers slid over the different parts. Ravage was his firstborn. He lifted a small tool, masks retracting as he looked at it closely, a small smile ghosting over his features. Megatron had once asked him why. Why create a sparkling this way? It had been when the telepath had first proudly presented the newly born quadrupedal mech to his leader.

Sparklings created in such a way were dependant on the parent mech to stabilize their fields, and that requirement did not diminish until after nearly half a vorn. At the very least, the sparkling would require recharge time several times throughout a rotation with the parent mech. Not that Soundwave had any issues with doing so. Ravage was created to fit within his chest compartment as were each subsequent Cassetticon. Then of course, it was an extremely rare gift that made the creator vulnerable during the gestation period. Soundwave had never met another capable of splitting their spark. Oh, there were cases. In fact, studying those couple dozen of reports after he’d had an odd experience with his first lover was what induced him to attempt creation.

But as to why? He was nearly _driven_ to create. It was nearly a compulsion. That wasn’t in the other case files, so Soundwave didn’t know if it was a quirk of his own or just part of having such an ability. Or perhaps it was the love. In all of his life, even up to now, he’d never been so completely, utterly and hopelessly in love than when Ravage first blinked open hazy, unfocused golden optics at him. Or the first time the spark that became Rumble and Frenzy had flared against his own. Or all the times he’d nearly snickered aloud from the tickling sensation of Laserbeak and Buzzsaw shifting about within his spark chamber, and the wonder he’d felt as he realized that the two were already playing with each other.

Ravage had been a treasure, and even though Megatron made a valid point, sparklings from Vector Sigma could be programmed to be fully grown and therefore not helpless or so dependent, Soundwave wouldn’t trade watching all the little things Ravage had discovered for anything. He’d never have been as happy with writing simple lines of programming code instead of actually teaching his creations. He felt their joy in discovery, and found a simpler existence within a blissful little bubble away from the war and the constant strife it brought.

It truly hadn’t been long before he’d felt the drive again. Ravage was only about five vorns, but the telepath wanted another sparkling. With the war gearing up he made another small protoform, this time bipedal. The form was, of course, finished far in advance of the birth as he’d done for Ravage. The surprise had come when just after the tiny sparkling had separated fully from his body, it divided.

Soundwave had nearly panicked. He rushed the two tiny points of light to a stasis unit -not something he was happy about doing- and then spent the next two rotations frantically creating an identical copy of the first frame. He didn’t even consider wasting time on trying to design a different looking protoform. The only thing he decided on was to make them different colors. Rumble and Frenzy had onlined within nanokliks of each other and Soundwave, in his extreme relief that both seemed fine, had nearly not moved fast enough to keep them from spark bonding to each other.

He then spent the next fortnight of rotations researching everything he could find on spark twins. Or rather, searching for research and reports on spark twins. Rumble and Frenzy had brought about a whole new set of challenges, and though Megatron was amused by them, he was also slightly consternated with his science officer and asked that the telepath hold off on creating any more sparklings for a while. One look at Rumble and Frenzy struggling and crying while trying to reach each other from opposite sides of his body had made the request easy to agree to.

The three creations were telepathic, but only with each other and Soundwave. Ravage _could_ talk, but he never did. Rumble and Frenzy rarely stopped. Soundwave was also constantly stopping the twins from trying to bond. It was exhausting work, and damaging them to keep them apart. 

One of the very few things he’d found on spark twins was that they were always bondmates. Soundwave felt that was too much of a commitment for infants to make, and therefore refused to allow it. Bonds, especially during a time of war, could be used as a weakness. It was difficult to survive the loss of a bondmate for fully mature mechs, let alone sparklings. The twin sets he’d read about all died if their twin did. The common theory was that they were one half of a whole spark, and therefore could not live without the other. The telepath wasn’t sure about that, considering they were _all_ bonded and decided caution would be the better choice, and stuck by his decision of refusing to allow his creations to bond.

He’d never thought he’d have to teach newborns how to merge. However, they needed _something_ , and in doing so he inadvertently gave them a means to satisfy the call of their sparks without bonding. The telepathic link recreated the union of a bond and they were happy enough with it. Though poor Ravage had to quickly learn to block them out after that. Soundwave learned to be less watchful as well. Even though he would generally ignore their more private moments, he was still affected by one accidentally.

Of course, that little incident had led to his unique relationship with Megatron.

Soundwave shook away the memory.

He trained all three sparklings in espionage. Ravage showed a distinct aptitude for the quiet and patience requiring work of infiltration and reconnaissance. He was particularly effective. Frenzy was a little genius when it came to computers, encryptions, and to a degree, even Soundwave’s forte, signals. Rumble, though capable of being as silent as Ravage, was far better suited to actual combat. Soundwave hated it. Fear still gripped his spark every time he was required to take his creations into battle, but Rumble was good at sneaking in and retrieving as well as demolitions. Mostly demolitions.

It had been Megatron himself to request Soundwave to create once more. The idea had been drifting about in his spark and processor for some time, but the war and the younglings he already had kept him busy enough. They were an effective team, but Megatron wanted a flyer if his officer was willing. Ravage was good, the best spy in the rather rag tag, motley crew of an army the young warlord had strung together, but a flyer could go faster and farther, and many mechs just didn’t look _up_. Unless they heard jet engines.

Ever curious, Soundwave had taken it a step farther. He created two flyer protoforms, and then divided his spark twice. Mostly just to see if he could, but also because he remembered how his three elder creations played as sparklings. Now they were older. Millennia had passed, and he highly doubted the older creations would gambol about and giggle with the newborns, so he split two so they’d have each other.

It was harder that time. His energy levels dropped fast, and he was left weakened and tired much of the time. There had even been some pain involved during and after their births. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw’s gestation took slightly longer than anticipated, but it only seemed logical in hindsight as there were two of them. Soundwave was prepared to deal with the same issues he had with Rumble and Frenzy, but they did not arise. True, the eagle twins had their own unique bond and love, but they didn’t suffer the same compulsion as their older brothers did.

Soundwave also learned that his concern of the elder three not being interested in the new sparklings was completely unfounded. Ravage was gentle with them as at first they seemed fearful. Rumble and Frenzy would tumble about and bicker until amusement sang through the telepathic link from the newborns. They, like Ravage, could speak, but chose to remain nearly mute. Soundwave trained them carefully, and they proved themselves as very effective spies before their second vorn of existence ended.

The telepath did his best to allow them to explore and experience life. Cast into the role of warriors before they were even old enough to exist without a mentor’s care, he made sure they were allowed to be children when they were not on duty. Megatron never questioned him. Never punished the younglings. Of course, the only ones to truly get in trouble and require corrective measures were Rumble and Frenzy. Ravage occasionally. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw were some of the most naturally stoic beings Soundwave had ever encountered. They weren’t without humor, in fact could be quite funny, they just seemed to grow up faster than Soundwave would have liked, and tended toward being serious.

He had intended to create again. The thoughts had been there in the back of his mind for quite some time, but there never seemed to be a right time. Then they left to chase after the Autobots and were trapped on this organic planet without the means. True, his creations had much to investigate and discover and learn, which was fun and exciting for Soundwave as well. His spark twins in particular were quite taken with human life. He wondered if it didn’t have a little to do with being only slightly taller than the average male human. Instead of existing with giants, Rumble and Frenzy could walk in a world their scale.

Soundwave stifled a flinch as a slight weight landed on his shoulder. He shot his gaze quickly to the left, then relaxed. Checking his internal chronometer, he was shocked to realize just how many cycles he’d sat lost in his musings and reminiscences of his creations.

Buzzsaw’s head cocked to the side as though curious. Soundwave must have remained silent for too long, for his creation turned his bright scarlet gaze up, and yes, now that he was feeling for it, he picked up a definite sense of interest and curiosity in Buzzsaw.

Soundwave frowned in confusion, then followed his youngling’s gaze back to the work surface. There, still resting in his left hand, his right still holding the small soldering tool, lay a tiny, newly built spark chamber.

_What will he be, Creator?_


End file.
